)       THE 

WONDERS  OF  ENGEAVING. 


BY 

GEORGES    DUPLESSIS. 


ILLUSTRATED   WITFI   TIIIKTY-FOUB   WOOD-ENGBAVING8. 


NEW  YOKE: 
CHARLES    SCRIBN^ER    &    CO, 

1871. 


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GBEAT  HUNTS,     ...... 

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WONDERS  OP  THE  HEAVENS,    . 
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WONDERS  OP  SCULPTURE         .... 

WONDERS  OP  ENGRAVING, 

WONDERS  OP  VEGETATION,      .... 

WONDERS  OP  THE  INVISIBLE  WORLD, 
CELEBRATED  ESCAPES,  .... 

WATER,  ...... 

HYDRAULICS,  .... 

ELECTRICITY,  ..... 

SUBTERRANEAN  WORLD,          .... 

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CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  L 

PAGB 
THE  ORIGIN  OF  ENGRAVING 9 

CHAPTER  H. 

ENGRAVING  IN  ITALY. — Engravers  on  Wood — Nielli — Copperplate 
Engraving  at  Florence,  in  the  Northern  Cities,  at  Milan, 
Parma,  Bologna,  and  Rome 13 

CHAPTER  HI. 
ENGRAVING  IN  SPAIN. — Giuseppe  Ribera  and  Francesco  Goya 83 

CHAPTER   IV. 

ENGRAVING  IN  THE  Low  COUNTRIES. — Engravers  on  Wood  in  the 
loth  Century — Early  Engravers  on  Metal — Holland  :  Rem- 
brandt, Ruysdael,  and  Paul  Potter — Belgium :  Rubens,  Bols- 
wert,  Paul  Pontius,  and  Anthony  Vandyck 88 

CHAPTER   V. 

ENGRAVING  IN  GKRMANY. — Early  Engravers  on  Wood — Maximil- 
ian's Engravers — Engraving  on  Metal — The  Master  of  1466, 
Martin  Schongauer  and  Albert  Diirer 143 

CHAPTER   VI. 

ENGRAVING  IN  ENGLAND. — Engraving  on  Wood — W.  Caxton — The 
Influence  of  Foreign  Masters  on  English  Art — Its  Originality 
in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  and  its  Influence  on  our  Age 186 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   VII. 

PACE 

ENGRAVING  IN  FRANCE. — Engravers  on  Wood — Engravers  on  Metal 
— The  School  of  Fontainebleau — Portrait-painters — Nicolas 
Poussin  and  Jean  Pesne — Charles  Lebrun  and  Gerard  Audran 
— The  School  of  Watteau — Vignette  Engravers — The  School 
of  David 210 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

PROCESSES. — Engraving  on  Wood,  Camai'eu — Copperplate  Engrav- 
ing— Line-Engraving,  Etching,  Dry  Point,  Combination  of 
Etching  and  Line-Engraving,  Mezzotint,  Aquatint,  Chalk  style, 
Engraving  in  Color,  Physionotracy,  Heliography  or  Photog- 
raphy— Printing 309 

INDEX  OF  EXGRAVKRS'  NAMES .331 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

SAINT  SEBASTIAN Niello 19 

SIBYL  AGRIPPINA Botticelli 25 

VIRGIN  AND  CHILD Mantegna 34 

A  YOUTH Campagnola 41 

LUCRETIA Raimondi 63 

A  POET Ribera 82 

THE  CONDEMNED Goya 85 

THE  UYLENSPIEGEL L.  van  Leydcn 9ti 

A  LANDSCAPE Rembrandt 103 

Two  Cows Paul  Potter. 109 

A  CORNFIELD Ruysdael 113 

COSTUME Goltzius 119 

SMNT  CATHERINE Rnbenx 129 

PORTRA  IT  OF  SNYDERS Vundyck 137 

DANCE  OF  DEATH  (after  Holbein) H.   Lutzelburger 161 

SAMSON  AND  THE  LION Master  of  1466 153 

THE  INFANT  JESUS M.  Schongauer 159 

VIRGIN  AND  INFANT  JESUS Albert  Diirer 167 

GERMAN  COSTUME Aldegrever 175 

A  LADY  OF  BALE W.  Hollar 1 80 

PORTRAIT  OF  R.  BAYFIELD W.  Faithorne 191 

MARRIAGE  A  LA  MODE W.  Hogarth 205 

HENRI  II Geoffroy  Tory 217 

HEAD  OF  CHRIST Claude  Mellan 241 

CLAUDE  DERUET Jacques  Callot 249 


8  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

SUNRISE Claude  Lorraine 253 

TIME  DISCLOSING  TRUTH G.  Aitdran,  after  Nico- 
las Poussiii 261 

ARABESQUE  ORNAMENT J.  Lepautre 281 

A  COSTUME A.  Watteau 285 

STUDIO  or  A  COPPERPLATE  ENGRAVER. . .  .Abraham  Souse 313 

THE  MOUNTEBANK Rembrandt 317 

VANITY J.  Callot 318 

A  PORTRAIT Prince  Rupert 320 

COPPERPLATE  ENGRAVING A.  JBosse 328 


THE 


WONDERS  OF  ENGRAYING. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE   ORIGIN   OF   ENGRAVING. 

BEFORE  reviewing  the  various  schools  of  Engrav- 
ing, and  studying  the  growth  of  this  art  in  each  sepa- 
rate country,  it  seems  expedient  to  us  to  recapitulate 
in  a  few  words,  the  very  diverse  and  often  contradic- 
tory opinions  put  forth  concerning  its  origin.  By 
doing  this,  we  shall  avoid  unnecessary  repetition,  and, 
without  occupying  ourselves  unduly  with  the  purely 
archaeological  question,  we  can  ascertain  the  charac- 
teristics of  each  school,  examine  the  works  worthy  of 
attention  executed  in  each  country,  and  enumerate 
the  artists  whom  future  generations  will  remember 
and  judge.  We  must  not  forget  to  say  that  we  in- 
tend to  occupy  oui-selves  solely  with  that  kind  of  En- 
graving from  which  impressions  are  taken  ;  and,  pur- 
posely neglecting  ancient  engraving,  we  commence 
our  work  only  at  the  period  when.  Printing  having 


10  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

been  discovered,  Engraving  became  a  iiew  art  and 
produced  important  results. 

Let  us  bear  in  mind,  to  begin  with,  that  there  are 
two  processes,  very  different  in  their  execution,  al- 
though similar  enough  in  their  results — engraving  on 
metal  and  engraving  on  wood  ;  in  the  first,  all  that  is 
to  be  impressed  on  the  paper  is  cut  in  sunken  lines  on 
the  metal ;  the  second  involves  work  of  a  diametri- 
cally opposite  kind  ;  all  that  is  to  appear  in  the  proof 
must  be  raised  on  the  wood,  and  the  graver  must 
carefully  remove  all  those  parts  which  the  printer's 
press  is  not  to  touch. 

Whole  volumes  might  be  written  if  we  wished  to 
discuss  or  even  to  review  the  opinions  put  forth  by 
scholars  on  the  origin  of  engraving.  Every  country 
has  taken  part  in  the  discussion,  and  eminent  men  on 
all  sides  have  become  the  champions,  each  of  his  own 
country.  National  pride  has  often  interfered  in  the 
dispute,  and  it  would  have  run  the  risk  of  becoming 
bitter  had  it  descended  to  the  arena  of  personalities 
instead  of  remaining  in  the  hands  of  earnest  workers. 

The  French  have  the  greater  facility  for  discussing 
the  various  opinions  on  this  matter,  inasmuch  as  they 
have  no  claim  to  be  considered  its  inventors.  France 
has  indeed  put  forth  some  pretensions  on  this  matter, 
and  has  been  willing  to  consider  one  Bernard  Milnet 
(an  artist  whose  very  name  is  more  than  problemati- 
cal) the  most  ancient  engraver ;  but,  after  a  careful 
investigation,  this  opinion  is  now  abandoned  by  all, 
even  by  those  who  first  adopted  it. 


THE    ORIGIN    OF    ENGRAVING.  11 

It  is  not  the  same  with  our  neighbors  :  for  a  long 
time  the  "  St.  Christopher  "  of  1423  was  thought  the 
most  ancient  known  example  of  engraving.  But  late- 
ly a  discovery  by  the  Baron  of  Reitfenberg,  overthrew 
this  opinion  ;  and  the  engraving  of  1418,  which  he 
obtained  for  the  Museum  of  Brussels  (the  date  of 
which  appears  to  us  incontestable),  transported  the 
real  period  of  the  invention  five  years  backward.  In 
our  day,  thanks  to  two  plates  printed  on  the  leaves 
of  a  manuscript  which  M.  Henri  Delaborde  has  de- 
scribed and  commented  on  *  with  remarkable  clear- 
ness, we  know,  that  in  1406,  the  art  of  wood-engrav- 
ing must  have  existed  and  the  printing-press  been 
brought  into  use. 

The  history  of  copper-plate  engraving,  properly  so 
called,  has  passed  through  the  same  vicissitudes. 
Before  the  Abbe  Zani  found  in  one  of  the  collections 
of  prints  in  Paris,  a  proof  of  the  "  Pax  of  Florence," 
executed  in  1452  by  Maso  Finiguerra—  as  shown  by 
the  official  registers — German  scholars  looked  upon 
Martin  Schongauer  as  the  true  inventor  of  copper- 
plate engraving;  quoting  in  testimony  some  impres- 
sions executed,  according  to  them,  about  1460.  From 
this  period,  already  far  removed  from  us  (as  the  Abbe 
Zani's  discovery  took  place  only  at  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century),  investigators  have  not  been  dis- 
couraged, and  their  efforts  have  been  crowned  with 
success.  Passavant,  in  the  "  Archives  de  Naumann  " 

*  "  Gazette  des  Beaux-arts,"  March,  1869. 


12  WONDEHS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

(4-e  Annee,  1858,  p.  1),  has  carefully  described  a  figure 
of  the  Virgin,  bearing  date  1451.  Renouvier,  in  a 
very  learned  pamphlet,  has  revealed  the  existence  of 
a  series  of  prints  of  the  "  Passion,"  executed  in  1446. 
Persevering  efforts  in  this  direction  might,  without 
doubt,  lead  to  some  new  discovery.  Some  day  or 
other,  we  doubt  not,  Germany  or  Flanders  will  be 
proclaimed  the  inventor  of  printed  engravings ;  and 
that  the  archives  of  history,  examined  with  great  care, 
and  turned  over  in  every  possible  way,  will  furnish  a 
document  before  which  every  ambition  must  succumb. 
But  we  should  be  much  surprised  if  all  these  patient 
researches  led  to  any  thing  more  than  the  knowledge 
of  a  mere  fact ;  and  we  shall  be  much  mistaken  if 
any  art-object  worthy  of  the  name  can  be  cited  to 
contradict  our  theory,  that  it  was  in  1452,  in  Italy,  at 
Florence,  that  the  first  really  important  specimen  of 
the  art  of  engraving  appeared  ;  an  event  brilliant 
enough  to  be  in  itself  alone  an  historical  landmark. 


CHAPTER   II. 

ENGRAVING    IN    ITALY. 

Engravers  on  Wood — Nielli — Copperplate  Engraving  at  Florence,  in 
the  Northern  Cities,  at  Milan,  Parma,  Bologna,  and  Rome. 

THE  history  of  engraving  in  Italy  follows  that  of 
painting  tolerably  closely ;  many  painters  were  also 
engravers,  and  those  who  did  not  themselves  take  the 
trouble  of  engraving  upon  metal  or  wood,  were  suffi- 
ciently greedy  of  fame  to  gather  around  them  en- 
gravers who  multiplied  the  works  they  produced 
under  their  supervision. 

Wood-engraving  did  not  in  Italy,  as  in  other  coun- 
tries, precede  engraving  on  metal.  It  appeared  at 
the  same  time.  It  is  in  printed  books  that  we  must 
look  for  the  first  instances  of  this  useful  art,  which, 
when  combined  with  the  text,  is  peculiarly  well  suit- 
ed to  bring  the  author's  thought  visibly  before  the 
eyes,  whilst  the  words  explain  it  to  the  mind. 

In  Italy,  wood-engraving  was  slower  in  acquiring 
real  importance  than  in  other  countries.  Although 
from  the  first  half  of  the  fifteenth  century,  we  find 


14  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

many  specimens  of  Italian  wood- engraving,  recog- 
nizable solely  by  their  style,  none  of  these  attempts 
bear  certain  dates,  and  it  is  only  at  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century  that  this  form  of  art  was  seriously 
cujjtivated  and  practised  by  true  artists.  Until  then 
it  had  been  in  the  hands  of  artisans,  who  were  more 
desirous  of  instructing  the  faithful  than  of  conforming 
to  the  laws  of  beauty. 

The  most  curious  specimens  of  Italian  wood- 
engraving  are  met  with  in  a  rare  book  called  the 
"  Hypnerotomachia  Poliphilii,"  printed  at  Yenice  by 
the  brothers  Aldus,  in  1499,  a  book  in  which  are  un- 
folded, amongst  dreams  more  or  less  fantastic,  some 
reflections  on  ideal  beauty,  or  the  theory  of  art,  com- 
posed by  Francesco  Columna  ;  this  work  would  have 
run  great  risk  of  remaining  in  oblivion  had  it  not 
been  embellished  by  some  excellent  wood-engravings. 
This  book  exhibits  compositions  which  were  attrib- 
uted successively  to  Andrea  Mantegna  and  Giovanni 
Bellini,  executed  in  a  very  summary  fashion,  but  with 
a  firmness  of  touch  which  proves  that  their  author 
possessed  rare  knowledge  of  drawing.  It  is  tnie  that 
we  do  not  here  recognize  the  style  of  these  two  mas- 
ters ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  we  do  not  hesitate  to 
affirm  that  a  superior  artist  alone  could  have  guided 
the  hand  of  the  engraver  in  this  work. 

The  sermons  of  Savonarola,  published  at  Florence 
the  day  after  they  were  delivered,  also  contain  a 
certain  number  of  woodcuts,  which  reproduce  with 
accuracy  the  beautiful  Florentine  designs  of  the  tif- 


ENGRAVING    IN    ITALY.  15 

teenth  century.  From  their  first  appearance,  these 
engravings  had  a  success  sufficiently  great  to  war- 
rant their  being  simultaneously  employed  in  different 
publications.  The  plates  which  adorn  the  text  of 
Savonarola's  sermons  are  again  found  in  "  L'Art  de 
Bien  Mourir,"  printed  at  Florence,  in  1513  ;  and  a 
diligent  search  would  certainly  discover  these  en- 
gravings in  other  publications,  as  they  were  well 
suited  to  the  mystical  books  of  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century. 

At  Rome  the  art  of  engraving  on  wood  did  not 
attain  the  same  degree  of  beauty  as  in  other  Italian 
cities.  The  discovery  of  printing  spread  there  less 
rapidly,  and  the  artists  of  the  Eternal  City  seem 
from  the  first  to  have  required  for  their  work  a  field 
larger  than  that  offered  by  a  book. 

It  was  in  the  north,  and  at  Venice  particularly, 
that  printers  encouraged  and  employed  the  best  art- 
ists of  this  class.  Amongst  books  brought  out  in  this 
city,  special  attention  is  due  to  Doni's  publications, 
usually  printed  by  Francesco  Marcolini  da  Forli,  and 
embellished  by  more  beautiful  wood-engravings  than 
had  until  then  appeared.  We  must  not  forget  to 
remark  that  these  works  appeared  in  the  middle  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  from  1550  to  1553,  when  Ital- 
ian art  was  already  at  its  zenith.  About  the  same 
period,  many  engravers  applied  themselves  to  repro- 
duce compositions  which  Giulio  Campagnola  and 
Titian  himself  drew  for  that  purpose.  They  exe- 
cuted some  admirable  engravings — engravings  prop- 


WONDERS    OF    ENGKAVING. 

erly  so  called,  as  not  intended  merely  to  adorn  a  book 
or  illustrate  a  text,  but  entirely  devoted  to  producing 
in  fac-simile,  and  making  popular,  the  works  of  these 
masters.  As  yet,  the  artist  did  not  dream  of  showing 
his  own  dexterity,  but  occupied  himself  solely  in 
faithfully  transferring  to  the  wood  the  design  which 
had  been  confided  to  him.  He  was  content  (and 
herein  lay  his  chief  merit)  to  follow  scrupulously  the 
outlines  traced  by  the  pen  or  pencil  of  the  painter, 
and  he  seems  to  be  far  more  anxious  for  the  glory  of 
his  model  than  for  his  own. 

Among  the  wood-engravers  who  habitually  took 
their  inspiration  from  Titian's  works,  Niccolo  Bol- 
drini — an  artist  to  whom  posterity  has  been  unjust — 
must  take  first  rank. 

The  origin  of  engraving  en  cama'ieu*  also  dates 
from  the  sixteenth  century.  Andrea  Andreani,  Ugo 
da  Carpi,  and  Antonio  da  Trenta,  the  principal  repre- 
sentatives of  this  new  art,  showTed  remarkable  genius 
in  their  works.  They  copied  the  compositions  of 
Raphael  and  of  Parmigiano  in  preference  to  those  of 
other  masters,  and,  by  means  of  several  consecutive 
printings,  succeeded  in  imitating  washed  drawings, 
and  giving  an  exact  representation  of  designs  exe- 
cuted in  many  tints,  and  therefore  more  difficult  than 
others  to  be  faithfully  copied. 

During  the  two  centuries  which  followed,  engrav- 
ing on  wood  was  suddenly,  and  almost  entirely,  aban- 

*  This  term  is  applied  to  painting  or  printing  in  a  single  color, 
varied  only  in  depth  of  tints  (as  red,  blue,  bistre,  &c.). 


ENGKAVING    IN    ITALY.  17 

doned  in  all  countries.  In  the  middle  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  we  only  find  one  engraver  in  Italy  en- 
deavoring to  restore  to  favor  a  process  formerly  em- 
ployed with  such  happy  results  by  the  artists  we  have 
named.  Antonio  Maria  Zanetti  published  at  Venice, 
in  1749,  a  series  of  prints,  executed  (n  camdieu  by 
himself,  after  designs  by  Parmigiano  ;  but  he  had  no 
imitators,  and  confined  himself  to  this  one  publica- 
tion. Even  now  that  wood-engraving  has  by  degrees 
regained  a  very  important  position,  it  hardly  exists  in 
Italy,  which  has  hitherto  been  the  first  to  adopt  every 
new  invention,  and,  until  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  had  taken  the  first  place  in  every  branch  of 
art. 

Engraving  on  Metal — Nielli. — A  goldsmith  of 
Florence,  Maso  Fiiiiguerra,  had  just  put  the  last  touch 
to  an  engraving  of  a  "  Pax,"  *  ordered  by  the  broth- 
ers of  the  church  of  St.  John,  and  wishing  to  see  the 
effect  of  his  work,  filled  the  lines  traced  by  his  graver 
with  a  liquid  composed  of  oil  and  lamp-black.  By 
chance,  a  pile  of  clamp  linen  was  placed  upon  the 
silver  plate  thus  prepared,  and  the  sunk  lines  filled 
with  black  liquid  were  reproduced  upon  the  linen. 

Such,  we  are  assured,  was  the  origin  of  engrav- 

*  "  Pax,"  is  the  name  given  to  a  plate  of  chased  metal,  enamelled 
or  niello,  still  used  in  the  solemn  feasts  of  the  Agnus  Dei.  It  was 
called  "  Pax  "  because,  after  it  had  been  kissed  by  the  officiating  priest, 
the  acolyte,  in  presenting  it  to  each  of  the  assisting  ecclesiastics,  pro- 
nounced the  words  "  Pax  tecuiu."  (Littre,  "  Dictionnaire  de"  la  Langue 
Fran<;aise,"  t.  ii.,  p.  906. 
2 


18  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

ings.  Is  this  legend  true  or  false  ?  It  is  impossible 
to  cite  any  trustworthy  document  either  for  or  against 
it ;  but  no  one  doubts  that  Maso  Finignerra  is  the 
author  of  the  "  Coronation  of  the  Virgin,"  a  niello, 
engraved  in  1452.  The  original  plate  is  in  the  Uffizi 
Gallery,  at  Florence,  and  the  only  known  impression 
from  it  is  carefully  preserved  in  the  Bibliotheque  de 
Paris.  Must  we  believe  that  no  engraving  appeared 
before  this  time  ?  and  are  we  to  consider  1452  the 
date  of  the  origin  of  engraving  on  metal  ?  This  opin- 
ion was  accepted  for  a  long  time,  but  now  scholars 
have  brought  to  light  prints  which  contradict  it.  If, 
however,  we  are  to  admit  that  an  art  is  not  really  in- 
vented before  it  produces  a  choice  work,  we  may,  un- 
til further  information,  consider  the  "  Pax  "  of  Maso 
Finiguerra  the  first  specimen  known  of  the  art  of 
engraving. 

At  Florence,  as  in  other  Italian  cities,  goldsmiths' 
work  was  very  much  in  fashion  at  the  beginning  of 
the  fifteenth  century ;  and  this,  like  other  branches  of 
art,  was  then  practised  by  men  of  real  merit.  At  this 
time  goldsmiths  adorned  most  of  their  works  with 
sunken  designs,  and  these  designs  were  called  "  nielli." 
Their  mode  of  testing  their  work  was  as  follows. 
"When  they  had  engraved  the  required  design  upon 
the  metal,  they  first  took  an  impression  in  very  fine 
clay ;  upon  this  the}7  sprinkled  sulphur,  and  then,  by 
filling  in  the  engraved  parts  with  lamp-black,  they 
were  able  to  obtain  a  just  notion  of  their  work.  Un- 
til perfectly  sure  of  the  final  result,  they  would  not 


F.NGRAVINOr    Ltf    ITALY. 


19 


have  dreamt  of  pouring  in  the  indestructible  enamel 
or  colored  matter  called  "  nigellum,"  which,  when 
once  in  its  place,  prevented  any  further  impression 
being  taken. 

When  they  discovered  that  damp  paper  firmly 
pressed  upon  the  plate,  im- 
pregnated with  a  certain  ink, 
gave  the  same  result,  they 
abandoned  the  use  of  sul- 
phur, and  their  trials  on 
paper  became  engravings. 
They  did  not  at  once  see  all 
that  their  discovery  involved. 
For  a  long  time  workers  in 
gold  confined  themselves  to 
the  small  number  of  impres- 
sions necessary  to  the  prog- 
ress of  their  work  ;  and  it  is 
to  this  indifference  that  we 
must  attribute  the  extreme  Fie-  i<-*f  >«"<>• 

rarity  of  these  early  impressions,  and  the  great  value 
which  amateurs  attach  to  them.  (The  neuter  noun 
"  nigellum,"  is  usually  called  "  niello,"  and  is  applied 
indiscriminately  to  the  plate  itself  and  the  impression 
taken  from  it.) 

The  nielli  are  by  no  means  all  of  equal  merit,  and 
were  it  not  for  their  rarity  many  would  be  scarcely 
worthy  of  a  place  in  choice  collections.  Indeed, 
although  the  Italian  masters,  and  men  of  true  genius, 
were  the  first  to  express  grandeur  of  form  and  perfect 


20  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

beauty  on  metal,  we  must  not  ignore  the  fact  that 
there  were  many  second-rate  artists  working  and  pros- 
pering at  the  same  time.  Instead  of  always  deriving 
their  inspiration  from  the  examples  before  them,  they 
were  sometimes  imprudent  enough  to  borrow  their 
models  from  the  neighboring  countries,  thereby  vol- 
untarily depriving  their  works  of  the  stamp  of  na- 
tionality, which  generally  distinguished  Italian  pro- 
ductions of  the  fifteenth  century.  We  must  not  sup- 
pose that  the  use  of  niello  was  given  up  as  soon  as 
the  means  of  taking  impressions  by  other  processes 
were  discovered.  The  previous  demand  for  nielli 
still  continued,  and  goldsmiths  were  not  inclined  to 
put  in  jeopardy  an  art  which  brought  them  honor  and 
profit ;  they  thus  still  covered  with  engravings  the 
plates  which  were  to  ornament  furniture,  armor,  or 
caskets.  It  was  only  towards  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  when  public  taste  took  another  di- 
rection, that  they  abandoned  this  kind  of  work. 

We  know  the  names  of  a  certain  number  of  niel- 
lists,  but  this  is  about  all  we  do  know.  These  artists 
did  not  appear  worthy  of  special  mention  to  the  his- 
torians who  wrote  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  the 
few  works  they  have  signed  reveal  nothing  of  their 
lives.  We  can  put  the  names  of  Maso  Finiguerra, 
Peregrini  da  Cesena,  Antonio  Pollajuolo,  Matteo  di 
Giovanni  Dei,  Francesco  Raibolini,  called  Francia, 
and  of  Marc- Antonio  Raimondi  under  the  works  at- 
tributed to  them  with  almost  absolute  certainty,  or 
great  probability,  but  it  would  be  difficult  to  give  the 


ENGRAVING    IN    ITALY.  21 

smallest  biographical  details  about  many  of  them  ; 
say  for  instance  of  Matteo  di  Giovanni  Dei,  to  whom 
tradition  ascribes  two  plates,  preserved  in  the  Uffizi 
Gallery  at  Florence,  the  "  Crucifixion,"  and  the  "  Con- 
version of  St.  Paul ;  "  but  as  we  cannot  compare  these 
anonymous  works  with  any  signed  drawings  of  Mat- 
teo di  Giovanni  Dei,  we  ought  scarcely  to  sanction 
this  tradition.  On  the  contrary,  some  official  reports 
published  by  Gaye  in  his  "  Carteggio  d'Artisti"  prove 
undeniably  that  the  most  illustrious  of  all  these  artists, 
Maso  Finiguerra  is  really  the  author  of  the  Florence 
"  Pax,"  representing  the  "  Coronation  of  the  "Virgin," 
and  this  is  enough  to  prove  that  other  nielli  which 
denote  singular  knowledge  and  exquisite  taste,  may 
be  attributed  to  the  same  hand. 

Peregrini  da  Cesena  engraved  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  nielli  on  metal,  which  he  sometimes  signed  in 
full  and  sometimes  with  a  monogram  only.  He  was 
evidently  greedy  of  fame,  for  he  is  the  only  artist  who 
signed  the  greater  part  of  his  productions. 

The  painter  and  engraver  Antonio  Pollajuolo,  is 
thought  to  be  the  author  of  two  other  small  nielli 
which  are  remarkable  for  the  somewhat  puerile  exact- 
ness of  the  drawing  of  the  muscles  and  bones  of  the 
human  body. 

As  for  Francesco  Francia  and  Marc-Antonio  Rai- 
mondi,  we  know  enough  of  their  works  to  be  able  to 
admire  the  nielli  attributed  to  them  without  fear  of 
mistake.  After  being  for  a  long  time  much  under- 
rated, Francia  is  now,  by  some  enthusiastic  admirers, 


22  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

considered  a  painter  of  the  first  order.  To  us  both 
opinions  appear  equally  exaggerated.  The  pictures, 
incontestably  by  this  artist,  exhibited  in  the  Pinacoteca 
at  Bologna,  his  native  place,  certainly  &how  great 
artistic  feeling  and  rare  knowledge  of  drawing,  but 
does  this  entitle  their  author  to  take  rank  among  and 
share  the  renown  of  the  greatest  masters  ?  Certainly 
not :  and  while  on  this  subject,  we  must  say  that  we 
consider  the  nielli  attributed  to  him,  of  which  we 
have  seen  the  original  plates  at  Bologna,  are  by  no 
means  so  beautiful  as  the  indiscriminate  admirers  of 
every  work  of  his  would  have  us  believe.  These  plates 
represent  "  Christ  on  the  Cross  "  and  the  "  ResuiTec- 
tion."  The  arrangement  and  style  of  the  figures  re- 
call the  designs  engraved  by  Marc- Antonio  Raimondi 
after  Francia,  and  this  is  equivalent  to  saying  that 
they  have  neither  imaginative  power,  nor  grandeur  of 
style  sufficient  to  warrant  the  fame  they  enjoy.  Marc- 
Antonio  Raimondi  has  nothing  to  gain  by  being  con- 
sidered an  engraver  in  niello.  The  few  prints  attrib- 
uted to  him  which  we  have  seen  in  Paris,  or  in  Count 
Durazzo's  collection  at  Bologna,  add  no  new  lustre  to 
his  glory ;  we  will  therefore  merely  remember  his 
name,  reserving  our  appreciation  of  him  as  an  artist 
until  we  consider  Italian  engraving ;  for  he  devoted 
his  talent  almost  exclusively  to  reproducing  the  sub- 
lime works  of  Raphael. 

The  number  of  anonymous  artists  who  worked  in 
niello  is  very  considerable.  It  would  perhaps  be  in- 
teresting to  try  and  discover  the  authors  of  composi- 


ENGRAVING    IX    ITALY.  23 

tions  which  are  often  excellent  and  worthy  of  an  illus 
trious  name,  but  this  is  not  the  place  for  such  an  un- 
dertaking, and  we  think  it  will  be  more  to  the  point 
to  show  how  Italians  may  profit  by  the  discovery  of 
printed  proofs,  and  to  review  briefly  the  history  of 
engraving,  properly  so  called. 

Engravings,  pt^operly  so  called. — When  Italian 
goldsmiths,  unconsciously  to  themselves,  discovered 
engraving,  artists  to  whom  the  process  of  chasing  was 
necessarily  familiar,  availed  themselves  of  it,  and 
created  for  themselves  the  name  of  engravers.  This 
transition  was  made  insensibly  and  unnoticed  by  all. 
As  soon,  however,  as  Italian  art  assumed  a  character- 
istic style,  it  divided  itself  into  several  schools,  which 
must  be  separately  studied.  The  Florentine  artists 
aspired  to  another  ideal  than  did  those  of  the  northern 
cities,  who  again  differed  essentially  from  the  masters 
of  Umbria,  or  the  .Roman  States.  Thus  Florence, 
Venice,  Milan,  Rome,  Modena,  and  Bologna,  who 
took  so  great  a  part  in  the  development  of  the  new 
art,  all  demand  attention,  for  reasons  often  very  differ- 
ent, as  each  one  produced  engravers  who  were  clever 
in  preserving  the  national  originality,  which  charac 
terizes  these  schools.  There  were  as  many  schools  as 
cities.  We  will  endeavor  to  point  out  their  distinctive 
characteristics,  and  at  the  same  time  make  them  serve 
as  divisions  of  our  work. 

Florence. — In  engravings  properly  so  called,  as 


24  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

well  as  in  nielli,  Florence  is  in  advance  of  the  other 
Italian  cities.  This  city  was  really  predestined  to 
lead.  After  producing  in  the  middle  ages  the  best 
works  of  the  early  Italian  masters,  Florence  was  also 
the  cradle  of  engraving  ;  it  seemed  indeed  that  these 
two  arts,  which  so  much  assist  each  other,  were  des- 
tined to  be  born  under  the  same  sky. 

The  first  engravings  on  metal  executed  in  Italy 
are  found  in  the  "  Monte  Santo  di  Dio  "  (1477),  and 
in  an  edition  of  "  Dante  "  (1481).  If  Vasari  is  to  be 
believed,  a  great  painter  supplied  the  designs  and 
even  assisted  in  the  engraving.  This  artist  Avas  San- 
dro  Botticelli,  and  for  a  fellow-laborer  seems  to  have 
had  Baccio  Baldini,  an  artist  whose  life  is  little  known, 
but  to  whom  Bartsch  attributes  a  number  of  engrav- 
ings. Those  of  the  "  Prophets  "  and  the  "  Sibyls  "  in 
the  "  Monte  Santo  di  Dio  "  and  "  Dante,"  betray  an 
inexperienced  hand,  but  they  are  valuable  on  account 
of  their  accurate  drawing ;  they  betoken  a  great  ap- 
preciation of  beauty,  and  though  the  artists  to  whom 
they  are  attributed,  expressed  their  thoughts  imper- 
"fectly,  owing  to  their  ignorance  of  all  the  resources 
of  the  new  process,  they  are  still  full  of  interest  and 
worthy  of  the  highest  respect.  The  two  series  of  the 
"  Prophets  "  and  the  "  Sibyls  "  were  so  much  sought 
after  when  they  appeared,  that  the  plates  were  worn 
out  and  required  retouching  in  a  very  short  time. 
They  were  copied  by  German  artists  about  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  this  shows  that 
they  were  of  sufficient  merit  to  be  attributed  with 


To  ?.omo  DJL&TTO 

I12VAIENTLMDO  CHWARA  MCHARMATo 
VERioDlVfNGV^To  iANTBWrrro 
INPRIfAA^VENTRE  mTERNo  CRlATO 

D12P1RJT.Q  aAMTO?AW9ADirrrTO 
ELPVALTEPO  DAhOLTl.  OIZPRCCATO 

RI PREH  DERA  CONDOLCIRf A  DAA\OR6 
EREI  EbVOMI  riEU>RPRECIO  EOMORE 

Fig.  ?.— Sibyl  A^rippina.     SAN-DUO  BJTTIC^'U. 


ENGRAVING    IN    ITALY.  27 

every  probability  to  Sandro  Botticelli.  The  general 
style  and  the  treatment  of  the  heads  are  the  same  as 
in  this  great  master's  pictures.  To  give  an  example 
from  the  authentic  works  of  the  great  Florentine,  we 
will  notice  a  "  Recumbent  Yenus,"  formerly  in  the 
possession  of  the  Marquis  Campana,  but  now  in  the 
Emperor  Napoleon's  collection.  The  head  of  the 
goddess  is  exactly  the  same  as  that  of  the  "  Sibyl 
Agrippa,"  and,  making  due  allowance  for  the  differ- 
ence between  painting  and  engraving,  it  is  clear  that 
the  artist  has  in  both  cases  worked  on  a  settled  plan, 
not  troubling  himself  much  with  his  model  until  he 
has  given  the  outline  of  the  face  and  form  he  means 
to  represent  in  a  few  firm  and  skilful  strokes. 

A  contemporary  of  Maso  Finiguerra,  and  like  him 
a  niellist  and  goldsmith,  Antonio  Pollajuolo,  seems  to 
have  worked  at  the  same  time  as  the  artists  of  whom 
we  have  spoken  above.  He  was  born  at  Florence  in 
1426,  as  testified  by  an  inscription  on  his  toinb.  He 
studied  successfully  under  Bartoluccio  and  Lorenzo 
Ghiberti,  but  he  left  the  studios  of  these  artists  to 
work  in  gold  on  his  own  account.  If  Vasari  is  to  be 
believed  (and  he  is  the  only  historian  who  has  trans- 
mitted authentic  documents  relating  to  this  artist) 
Pollajuolo  had  a  marvellous  talent  for  working  in 
metal ;  and  although  his  productions  were  most  ex- 
quisite and  soon  widely  sought  after,  he  was  not 
content  with  being  an  excellent  goldsmith,  but  wish- 
ing to  study  painting  he  asked  his  brother,  Piero 
Pollajuolo,  to  teach  him  the  secrets  of  this  great  art. 


28  WOXDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

Endowed  with  marvellous  energy  and  of  an  invincible 
will,  his  renown  as  a  painter  was  soon  equal  to  that 
Avhich  he  had  gained  as  a  goldsmith.  However  this 
may  be,  his  pictures  are  rare  enough.  Those  which 
we  were  able  to  see  at  Florence,  Milan,  and  London, 
appeared  to  us  as  remarkable  for  the  pedantry  with 
which  the  artist  has  paraded  his  knowledge  of  anat- 
omy, as  for  the  really  noble  taste  of  the  designs. 
This  systematic  exaggeration  of  human  forms,  com- 
bined with  praiseworthy  refinement  of  style,  is  cer- 
tainly reproduced  in  three  engravings  attributed  to 
him  :  "  Combat  of  Ten  Naked  Men,"  "  Hercules  and 
Antaeus,"  and  the  "  Combat  of  Two  Centaurs."  It  is 
true  that  only  one  of  these  is  signed,  but  what  does 
that  matter  if  the  others  are  proved  to  have  come 
from  the  same  studio  ?  Besides  Pollajuolo  is  easily 
recognizable  in  his  works ;  he  had  certain  peculiar 
notions  about  designs,  and  he  would  not,  like  most  of 
his  contemporaries,  have  left  unrevealed  the  secrets  of 
aii  art  which  he  had  fathomed. 

If  we  believe  certain  recent  documents,  Fra  Filip- 
po  Lippi  was  both  the  artist  and  engraver  of  an  "  An- 
nunciation "  and  a  "  Crucifixion,"  which  form  part  of 
a  series  of  fifteen  pictures  relating  to  the  "  Life  of  the 
Yirgin."  It  is  certainly  not  improbable  that  the  two 
plates  were  executed  after  designs  by  Fra  Filippo 
Lippi ;  but  that  they  were  by  his  own  hand  appears 
to  us,  at  least,  doubtful.  In  comparing  them  with 
some  anonymous  prints  executed  at  the  same  period, 
"  The  Preaching  of  St.  Mark,"  "  David  slaying  Goli- 


KNGKAVLN'G    IN    ITALY.  29 

ath,"  "  Solomon  appearing  before  tlie  Queen  of  She- 
ba,"  and  "  The  Last  Judgment,"  for  example,  we 
recognize  that  the  hand  which  somewhat  inaccurately 
engraved  these  wonderful  and  skilful  designs  is  that 
of  the  ar.thor  of  the  prints  in  question.  Again,  if 
Filippo  Lippi  were  really  the  author  of  these  engrav- 
ings he  would  have  marked  them  with  his  own  mono- 
gram, and  he  would  not,  particularly  in  the  "  Life  of 
the  Virgin,"  have  omitted  the  head  of  Lucrezia  Buti, 
which  he  had  taken  for  his  prototype  of  the  mother 
of  Christ,  and  which  occurs  so  frequently  amongst  the 
faces  of  his  women  in  his  pictures  and  frescoes.  Let 
us  add,  that  if  indeed  their  author  was  Fra  Filippo 
Lippi,  he  must  have  produced  them  very  early  in  his 
adventurous  life,  and  even  this  idea  is  contradicted  by 
weighty  arguments ;  as  Lippi's  very  first  pictures 
show  a  feeling  for  beauty  of  which  there  is  but  little 
trace  in  these  disputed  prints ;  and  though  not  pre- 
senting much  skill  in  workmanship,  these  plates 
would  show  a  firmness  in  design  and  a  decision  in 
expression  of  which  there  is  not  even  a  foreshadow- 
ing. 

Vasari,  who  has  given  a  long  chapter  to  engravers 
by  profession,  does  not  mention  Robetta.  He  seems 
to  have  considered  this  artist  a  mere  goldsmith. 
Whatever  may  be  the  cause  of  this  forgetful  ness — 
and  it  is  of  little  consequence,  the  plates  being  more 
eloquent  than  the  best  authenticated  descriptions — 
we  must  assert  that  the  prints  signed  with  this  name 
merit  special  attention.  Drawn  with  unvarying  beau- 


30  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

ty  and  elegance,  and  engraved  with  a  boldness  and 
ease  rare  amongst  the  early  Italians,  they  may  some- 
times be  marred  by  timidity  and  inexperience,  never 
by  want  of  taste  or  incorrectness  of  design.  Unlike 
most  of  the  engravers  of  his  time,  Robetta  was  not 
content  to  draw  fully-draped  forms  alone,  he  attempt- 
ed nude  figures  also,  in  order  to  show  how  deeply  he 
had  studied  anatomy.  The  men  in  his  works,  who 
are  mostly  young,  seldom  display  much  muscular  de- 
velopment, except  as  in  "  Hercules  and  Antseus," 
when  the  subject  demands  it,  they  are  agile  and  sup- 
ple rather  than  vigorous,  masses  of  curling  hair  shade 
heir  brows,  and  instead  of  the  austerity  usual  in  con- 
temporary Florentine  compositions,  their  faces  wear 
mild  and  smiling  expressions.  The  delicate  and 
graceful  forms  of  his  women  are  perfectly  chaste  in 
their  absolute  nudity ;  they  are  full  of  elegance,  and 
there  is  a  strange  charm  in  their  pure  unveiled  bodies. 
Although  belonging  to  the  old  school,  Robetta  ad- 
vanced his  art  so  much,  that  he  may  be  considered 
the  last  of  the  early  engravers. 

It  is  a  strange  fact  that  we  must  now  turn  to 
France  to  find  artists  who  retained  the  peculiarities 
of  tlie  Florentine  school.  Florentine  taste,  consider- 
ably modified  no  doubt,  is  certainly  easily  recognized 
in  some  works  by  our  fellow-countrymen.  Francis  I. 
and  Henry  II.,  as  is  well  known,  attracted  Leonardo 
da  Vinci  and  Andrea  del  Sarto  to  their  court ;  these 
two  artists,  quickly  followed  by  Primaticcio  and  Rosso, 
were  accompanied  bv  a  number  of  engravers,  who, 


ENGRAVING    IX    ITALY.  31 

laboring  alike  at  French  and  Italian  works  of  art, 
introduced  their  native  style  and  founded  the  famous 
school  of  Fontainebleau,  which  occupies  so  important 
a  position  in  the  history  of  art.  If  it  had  not  been  for 
engravings  the  memory  of  this  famous  school  might 
never  have  been  preserved.  The  works  of  Rosso  have 
entirely  disappeared,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the 
grand  "  Galerie  des  Fetes,"  which  has  already  required 
constant  restoration,  there  is  scarcely  a  trace  of  Pri- 
maticcio's  sojourn  in  France.  Still  the  influence  of 
these  artists  was  immense.  Under  their  auspices  art 
underwent  a  complete  metamorphosis.  After  deriving 
their  inspiration  now  from  Flanders,  now  from  Italy, 
the  French  in  their  turn  inspired  artists  from  all  coun- 
tries. The  Italians,  too,  modified  their  style,  and 
Rosso,  who  had  just  decorated  the  walls  of  the  con- 
vent of  the  Annunziata  at  Florence  with  an  admirable 
fresco,  broke  with  the  traditions  of  his  school  and 
changed  his  style  as  soon  as  he  set  foot  on  French 
soil.  In  fact  he  changed  so  completely  that  he  soon 
became  more  French  than  the  French  themselves. 
Art,  hitherto  exclusively  Christian,  now  borrowed 
subjects  largely  from  mythology  ;  and,  from  a  power- 
ful auxiliary  of  the  Church,  she  now  suddenly  became 
pagan,  and  chose  to  represent  the  adventures  of  gods 
arid  goddesses  and  the  exploits  of  fabulous  heroes  on 
the  walls  of  Fontainebleau.  This  was  certainly  quite 
a  new  opening  and  a  strange  and  significant  change. 
If  these  mystical  paintings  had  not  coincided  with  the 
tastes  of  the  masters  of  Fontainebleau  would  thev 


32  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

have  preferred  such  subjects  ?  To  ask  the  question  is 
to  answer  it.  Nothing  is  more  natural  than  that  the 
walls  of  a  gay  mansion,  where  the  court  lived  in  a 
perpetual  round  of  gaiety  should  be  covered  with 
bacchanals,  sirens,  and  fauns,  rather  than  with  bibli- 
cal personages.  Rosso  was  the  first  to  be  entrusted 
with  the  decoration  of  Fontainebleau.  He  thorough- 
ly understood  the  necessities  of  his  work,  he  identified 
himself  with  the  idea  he  had  to  carry  out,  and  for  a 
time  at  least  he  was  able  to  forget  where  he  had 
learnt  his  art  and  to  devote  himself  entirely  to  ful- 
filling the  wishes  of  his  employers. 

When  we  consider  French  engraving,  we  will  ex- 
amine more  thoroughly  the  extraordinary  importance 
of  this  school  of  Fontainebleau  ;  at  present  we  con- 
tent ourselves  with  noticing  the  part  Florence  took  in 
this  movement,  and  the  ascendancy  which  a  master 
of  her  school  obtained  over  his  contemporaries.  But 
Florentine  art,  so  homogeneous  and  full  of  life  at  the 
beginning,  declined  rapidly  at  the  close  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  Historians  notice  some  marks  of 
talent  without  naming  any  prominent  individual. 
Henceforth  the  first  place  belongs  to  neighboring 
countries. 

The  cities  of  Northern  Italy. — One  of  the  artists 
who  adopted  the  new  style  with  the  greatest  success, 
seems  to  have  been  Andrea  Mantegna.  Born  at 
Padua  in  1431,  he  learned  drawing  under  Francesco 
Squarcione,  and  when  quite  young  devoted  himself 


ENGRAVING    IN   ITALY.  33 

to  painting.  His  genius  procured  him  the  protection 
of  Luigi  da  Gonzaga,  Duke  of  Mantua,  and  he  was 
chosen  by  Pope  Innocent  VIII.  to  decorate  the  chapel 
of  the  Belvidere.  As  a  painter  his  fame  became  im- 
mense, and  his  works  have  been  extremely  admired 
ever  since  his  time.  His  wish  to  see  the  compositions 
he  proposed  to  execute — and  did  execute  later  in  the 
palace  of  the  Duke  of  Mantua — widely  spread,  was 
evidently  one  of  his  chief  motives  for  adopting  and 
patronizing  engraving.  Unfortunately  he  could  not 
finish  his  series  of  engravings  of  the  "  Triumph  of 
Caesar ; "  the  slowness  of  the  process,  the  necessity  of 
producing  works  of  a  different  kind,  compelled  him 
to  abandon  it,  but  happily  for  the  greater  glory  of  art 
he  still  sometimes  handled  the  graver,  and  brought 
out  several  plates  worthy  of  the  admiration  they 
always  excite.  It  is  true  that  his  prints  have  not  the 
truth,  the  correctness  of  detail,  the  exquisite  finish  of 
his  paintings ;  but  if  we  miss  the  minute  exactness 
unattainable  on  metal,  we  have  the  bold  and  skilful 
strokes  of  a  hand  which  is  content  with  a  sketch,  and 
reserves  its  full  power  for  the  painting.  But  does  this 
apparent  negligence  or  rather  freedom  and  ease  inter- 
fere with  the  correctness  of  the  outline  or  the  force 
of  the  expression  ?  Not  in  the  least.  We  may  even 
assert  that  the  studied  ruggedness  and  the  systematic 
intention  to  avoid  picturesque  effects,  have  stamped 
this  master's  engravings — "  The  Entombment,"  and 
the  "  Descent  to  Hades,"  for  instance — with  a  gloomy 
grandeur  of  their  own,  admiiaMv  suited  to  the  sub- 

O  •' 


34 


WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 


jects.  Mantegna  appeals  to  the  soul,  not  to  the  eye. 
Always  in  quest  of  beauty,  but  of  beauty  rather 
majestic  than  graceful,  he  has  a  great  predilection  for 
touching  scenes  and  mournful  episodes.  His  figures 
have  ever  a  peculiar  nobility  and  grandeur,  whether 
he  call  upon  us  to  mourn  the  dead  Christ  with  St. 
John,  or  to  look  at  a  drunken  youtli  reclining  on  a 
wine  cask,  supported  by  a  faun.  The  Virgin,  as  he 


3.— Virgin  and  Child.    MANTEGNA. 


ENGRAVING   IN   ITALY.  3f» 

understands  her,  is  neither  mild  nor  resigned  ;  how 
proud  she  is,  on  the  contrary,  of  her  divine  Son 
adored  by  the  eastern  kings — how  overwhelmed  she 
is  with  sorrow  at  the  entombment !  But  Mantegna 
has  elsewhere  expressed  beauty  of  quite  a  different 
type.  In  a  print  attributed  to  him  of  "  St.  Sebas- 
tian," he  has  given  a  perfect  notion  of  elegance  and 
youth.  Agile  and  supple  this  figure  might  pass  for  a 
personification  of  adolescence. 

Andrea  Mantegna's  prints  ought,  strictly  speak- 
ing, to  be  considered  the  first  engravings  executed  in 
Italy.  Until  then  many  goldsmiths,  sometimes  of 
exceptional  talent,  had,  it  is  true,  devoted  themselves 
to  engraving  at  Florence,  Venice,  Bologna,  and  other 
towns  ;  but  Mantegna  was  the  first  artist  of  note  who 
engraved  plates  to  be  printed  from,  which  were  des- 
tined to  inspire  and  lead  an  entire  school. 

The  school  formed  by  Mantegna's  works,  and  di- 
rected by  the  master  himself  for  some  years,  definite- 
ly naturalized  engraving  in  Northern  Italy,  but  the 
artists  who  belonged  to  it  are  almost  unknown.  Care- 
less of  fame,  they  generally  neglected  to  sign  their 
works  with  a  monogram  or  any  mark  of  identifica- 
tion, and  if  by  chance  they  did  sign  them,  it  was  with 
initials  only,  so  that  recognition  is  still  difficult. 

The  names  of  two  artists,  Zoan  Andrea  and  Gio- 
vanni Antonio  da  Brescia  are  preserved  to  us ;  but  if 
we  are  able  to  attribute  some  few  prints  to  them, 
numbers  still  remain  unappropriated. 

The  greater  number  of  plates  issued  from  Man- 


36  WONDKES    OF   ENGKAVING. 

tcgna's  school  have  no  very  striking  qualities.  Exe- 
cuted under  the  eye  of  the  master,  or  at  least  in  his 
style,  they  may  show  accurate  knowledge  and  lofty 
aspirations,  but  none  of  them  deviate  sufficiently  from 
the  school-routine  to  have  a  distinct  personality. 
They  are  works  of  docile  pupils,  who  set  small  store 
by  their  own  originality.  There  were,  however,  ex- 
ceptions to  this.  "Where  it  seemed  less  needed,  Mau- 
tegna's  pupils  gave  decided  proofs  of  original  power ; 
we  allude  to  the  ornaments  and  arabesques,  which 
they  arranged  with  marvellous  skill.  They  had  ad- 
mirable sculptures  at  hand  in  the  churches  and  pal- 
aces of  Northern  Italy,  accurate  and  varied  traceries 
surrounding  the  porticos,  decorating  the  tombs,  or 
covering  the  friezes  of  the  monuments.  In  these 
works,  where  imagination  is  free,  and  the  human 
form,  if  employed,  accommodates  itself  to  the  exigen- 
cies or  caprices  of  the  artists,  without  prejudice  to  art, 
Mantegna's  pupils  were  able  to  give  the  reins  to  their 
fancy  ;  and  whilst  remaining  faithful  to  the  principles 
of  their  school,  they  invented  and  distributed  with 
their  engravings  a  number  of  charming  arabesques, 
such  as  but  for  them  could  only  have  been  admired  at 
Venice,  Verona,  or  Padua. 

Great  as  was  Mantegna's  authority  with  the  en- 
gravers of  Northern  Italy,  a  school  of  art  was  formed 
at  Venice  independently  of  him.  The  master  of  the 
Venetians'  choice  and  affection  was  the  famous  Gio- 
vanni Bellini,  and  if  by  chance  they  were  attracted 
by  Mantegna's  frescoes  belonging  to  the  Eremitani  of 


ENGBAVING   IN    ITALY.  37 

Padua,  or  in  the  Gonzaga's  palace,  they  soon  gave 
fresh  evidence  in  their  work  of  their  exclusive  and 
unchangeable  admiration  for  G.  Bellini,  Titian,  and 
Giorgione.  Fortunate  city  to  entertain  such  a  band 
of  men  of  genius  !  fortunate  engravers  to  find  such 
magnificent  models  in  the  works  of  contemporary 
artists !  But  are  we  to  suppose  that  Venetian  en- 
gravers always  borrowed  from  others  —  that  they 
never  themselves  invented  their  subjects  ?  Certainly 
not.  Although  all  their  works  are  to  some  extent 
under  a  common  influence,  we  cannot  suppose,  when 
we  examine  plates  by  Mocetto,  Giulio  and  Domenico 
Campagriola,  Benedetto  Montagna,  or  Giacomo  di 
Barbari,  that  these  artists  were  always  content  with 
the  modest  office  of  interpreters.  They  were  mostly 
painters,  and  we  can  understand  that  they  engraved 
their  own  works  in  preference  to  those  of  others. 
Even  when  they  borrowed  their  subjects,  they  stamped 
them  with  an  originality  all  their  own. 

Girolamo  Mocetto,  whose  life  is  almost  unknown, 
was  at  the  same  time  a  painter  and  an  engraver. 
Many  paintings  signed  in  full  by  him  do  not  give  a 
very  great  idea  of  his  talent  as  a  painter.  They  are 
neither  remarkable  for  originality  nor  beauty  of  style. 
But  his  engravings  present  him  in  a-  more  favorable 
light.  Though  the  hand  is  somewhat  harsh  and  in- 
experienced, it  has  knowledge  and  a  great  feeling  for 
drawing.  Mocetto  reproduced  compositions  in  Man- 
tegna's  style  with  great  skill,  taking  his  chief  inspira- 
tion from  this  master ;  he  sometimes  reflected  also 


38  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

the  grandeur  of  certain  of  Bellini's  works.  His 
prints  were  executed  from  very  soft  copper,  which  ac- 
counts for  their  rarity.  The  richest  collections  con- 
tain very  few  examples,  but  the  Cabinet  des  Estampes 
in  Paris  possesses  more  than  all  other  collections  add 
ed  together.  Two  plates.  "  Judith  and  Holofernes," 
and  "  Bacchus  beneath  a  Yine,"  are  sufficient  to  give 
a  very  high  opinion  of  their  artist's  talent.  These  en- 
gravings, which  are  the  finest  of  Mantegna's  works, 
interest  us  especially,  because  they  prove  that,  like 
the  greater  number  of  his  contemporaries,  he  knew 
nothing  of  Albert  Diirer's  engravings,  introduced  into 
Italy  at  this  period,  or  if  he  did  know  them,  he  en- 
tirely ignored  them. 

Giulio  Campagnola  was  a  scholar  ;  he  read  Greek 
and  Latin,  and  knew  Hebrew.  His  father,  being  a 
learned  man,  took  care  to  give  his  son,  when  young,  a 
good  education.  But  whilst  pursuing  his  study  of 
languages  his  taste  for  art  betrayed  itself,  and  was  so 
conspicuous  that  one  of  his  contemporaries,  Matteo 
Bosso,  writing  to  Hector  Theophanes,  did  not  hesitate 
to  say,  "  his  works  may  compete  with  those  of  the 
great  Venetian  masters  ;  he  can  render  a  painting  of 
Mantegna's  or  Bellini's  better  than  any  other  artists, 
and  he  is  more  successful  in  portrait-taking  than  were 
any  of  his  predecessors."  Making  due  allowance  for 
the  exaggeration  of  this — Matteo  Bosso  was  a  personal 
friend  of  the  Campagnolas — we  cannot  but  own  that 
the  young  painter's  first  efforts  must  have  been  very 
brilliant.  We  know,  positively,  that  he  was  among 


ENGKAVING    IN    ITALY.  39 

the  men  of  genius  attracted  to  the  court  of  Ferrara 
by  Hercules  d'Este.  We  are  ignorant  in  what  capac- 
ity he  mixed  in  this  august  assembly  ;  if  in  that  of  a 
painter,  we  are  unable  to  pronounce  on  his  merits,  for 
his  pictures  are  now  unknown,  having  been  lost,  de- 
stroyed, or  attributed  to  some  more  famous  masters,  a 
common  fate  we  must  remark  by  the  way  of  unsigned 
works,  or  of  those  which  recall  some  illustrious  style. 
In  any  case,  none  of  Giulio  Campagnola's  pictures  are 
preserved  to  us.  We  can  judge  of  his  style  only  by 
the  engravings  he  has  signed,  and  which  time  has 
spared.  They  are  not  all  distinguished  by  the  same 
qualities  :  some  are  influenced  by  Albert  Diirer,  and 
remarkable  for  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  work  to 
which  the  artist  has  devoted  himself,  others  reproduce 
compositions  which  may  safely  be  attributed  to  Gior- 
gione,  Giovanni,  Bellini  or  Mantegna  ;  they  honestly 
preserve  the  style  of  these  masters  without  giving  the 
figures  very  exactly,  the  engraver  having  been  con- 
tent to  sacrifice  strict  truth  to  the  charm  of  color. 
Giulio's  landscapes  taken  from  the  countries  he  lived 
in,  show  greater  study  of  nature  than  his  figures. 
Giulio  Campagnola  was  one  of  the  first  who  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  representing  in  engraving  the  color 
of  pictures.  This  he  did  by  small  dots  nearer  or  fur- 
ther apart,  which  contrivance  to  a  certain  degree 
anticipated  the  invention  of  aquatint  engraving. 

Dominico's  relation  to  Giulio  Campagnola  is  not 
well  established ;  but  the  two  namesakes  \vorked  to- 
gether as  shown  in  a  plate  called  "  The  Concert,"  and 


40  WON  DEES    OF    EN  GRAVING. 

also  in  a  design  of  u  St.  John  the  Baptist."  Doinin- 
ico's  talent  differs  in  many  respects  from  Giulio's.  In 
too  great  a  hurry  to  work  out  Lis  ideas  on  canvas  or 
metal,  he  is  not  sufficiently  careful  about  correctness 
of  form,  and  he  is  indifferent  to  beauty  ;  his  enthu- 
siasm carries  him  away  ;  and  although  he  attended 
Titian's  studio,  some  of  his  works  seem  to  imply  that 
he  belonged  to  the  school  of  a  less  correct  master — 
Jacopo  Robusti,  called  "  Tintoretto."  He  deliberately 
exaggerates  outlines,  movements,  and  expressions, 
under  pretence  of  making  them  more  distinct.  The 
story  of  his  master's  jealousy  of  him  will  lose  all 
probability  when  his  works  are  examined.  Granted 
that  his  landscapes  resemble  Titian's  more  than  any 
others,  does  that  justify  this  famous  jealousy  ?  We 
think  not.  With  Titian  landscape  certainly  occupied 
a  large  space,  but  it  is  generally  only  the  framework 
of  a  composition  with  figures,  it  is  merely  an  accessory 
in  most  of  his  pictures,  and  contributes  accidentally 
to  his  renown.  Campagnola's  first  plans  are  not 
nearly  so  grand  as  Titian's,  and  if  the  skilful  execu- 
tion of  his  distances  justifies  this  comparison,  so  glo- 
rious for  him,  there  is  nevertheless  a  uniformity  and  a 
want  of  force  in  his  works  which  happily  do  not  mar 
those  of  the  illustrious  Venetian. 

Benedetto  Montagna,  born  at  Verona,  like  Mocetto, 
worked  from  1505  to  1524.  His  engravings  are  less 
refined  and  his  drawing  is  less  correct  than  those  of 
his  fellow-countryman.  He  yielded  to  the  influence  of 
Albert  Diirer  more  than  any  of  the  artists  we  have- 


Fig.  4.— A  youth.    GITJLIO  CAMPAGNOLA. 


ENGBAVING    IN    ITALY.  43 

named.  His  first  engravings,  after  his  own  paintings, 
are  wanting  in  grace.  But  the  "  Sacrifice  of  Abra- 
ham "  is  cleverly  composed  and  skilfully  executed ; 
the  drawing,  too,  is  better  than  usual.  Fine  proofs  of 
Montagna's  engravings  are  rare  ;  executed  on  soft 

o  o  CJ  t 

metal  they  could  only  bear  a  limited  amount  of  print- 
ing, and  when  once  they  are  a  little  worn  they  lose 
nearly  all  their  beauty. 

No  birthplace  was  ever  more  disputed  than  was 
that  of  Giacomo  de'  Barbari,  known  under  the  name 
of  the  "  Master  of  the  Caduceus."  Some  call  him  a 
Germ  an,  others  the  contemporary  and  fellow-country- 
man of  Lucas  of  Leyden.  Some  consider  France  his 
birthplace,  others  Ferrara.  Recent  authors  confounc. 
him  with  a  certain  Jacob  Walch,  born  at  Nuremberg. 
The  truth  is  that  he  was  born  at  Venice,  about  1450, 
a  date  rendered  probable  by  a  picture  signed  by  him 
and  bearing  date  1472.  It  is  only  fair  to  add  that  his 
style  of  engraving  explains  the  difference  of  opinion 
about  him.  Remembering  the  beauty  of  the  limbs 
of  his  figures,  and  a  certain  grandeur  of  style  in  his 
prints,  as  in  "  Sebastian  bound  to  a  Tree,"  we  do  not 
hesitate  to  recognize  in  him  a  descendant  of  the  school 
of  which  Mantegna  was  the  chief;  but  again,  his 
plates  seem  to  bear  witness  to  a  Teutonic  origin. 
Such  opposite  qualities  in  this  artist  need  not  surprise 
when  we  know  that  Philip  of  Burgundy,  natural  son 
of  Philip  the  Good,  retained  Giacomo  de'  Barbari  in 
his  service,  and  took  him  first  to  Nuremberg,  and  then 
to  Holland,  in  which  country  the  painter-engraver 


44  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

exercised  great  influence  on  art.  Giaeomo  do'  Bar- 
bari  died  in  1516.  His  scarce  pictures,  preserved  in 
private  or  public  galleries,  testify  still  more  than  his 
engravings  to  his  Italian  origin.  Of  little  imaginative 
power,  lie  executed  a  single  figure  better  than  a  com- 
position ;  but  even  his  figures  are  out  of  proportion  : 
they  are  thin,  with  heads  unduly  large  or  absurdly 
small.  His  chief  merit  consists  in  the  grace  of  his 
figures,  and  the  ingenious  rendering  of  the  limbs 
which,  in  spite  of  gross  incorrectness  of  drawiiig,  show 
a  delicacy  of  touch  and  power  of  coloring,  which  lead 
us  to  suppose  him  to  have  belonged  to  the  school  of 
Giovanni  Bellini  and  Giorgione. 

Titian  and  his  pupils  were  not  fortunate  in  their 
engravers.  With  the  exception  of  the  author  of  the 
woodcuts  mentioned  above,  not  a  single  contemporary 
artist  dedicated  his  talent  to  reproduce  pictures  ;  and 
the  small  number  of  plates  engraved  at  that  time  are 
the  work  of  men  without  experience,  incapable  of 
copying  the  models  before  them.  We  will  not  recall 
the  names  of  these  unskilful  interpreters,  they  are 
unworthy  of  being  rescued  from  oblivion.  At  Venice, 
as  in  nearly  all  the  other  cities  of  northern  Italy,  the 
art  had  attained  its  zenith  during  the  fifteenth  and 
sixteenth  centuries,  but  the  decadence  quickly  fol- 
lowed this  glorious  period.  We  have  made  the  same 
remark  about  the  Florentine  school,  and  we  shall  have 
to  repeat  it.  Engravers  followed  the  general  progress 
of  art  in  Italy,  and  after  having  enthusiastically  em 
braced  the  new  invention,  and  after  having  pro- 


ENGRAVING-    IN    ITALY.  45 

duccd  works  in  which  the  feeling  for  color  and  form 
is  expressed  with  peculiar  talent,  they  appear  to  have 
suddenly  sunk  into  inactivity.  The  distance  which 
separates  the  masters  of  the  fifteenth  nnd  sixteenth 
centuries  from  their  next  successors  is  immense,  and 
the  style  which  belongs  to  works  of  the  early  school 
is  gone  beyond  recall.  In  the  seventeenth  century  a 
Flemish  artist,  Valentin  Lefevre,  passed  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  at  Venice,  and  engraved  with  con- 
siderable minuteness  the  best  works  of  Titian  and 
Paul  Veronese.  But  being  mere  sketches,  his  engrav- 
ings only  give  the  compositions  of  these  masters,  miss- 
ing the  powerful  effect  and  splendid  coloring  of  the 
originals. 

The  Venetian  school  claims  another  artist  of  high 
merit,  though  only  a  landscape  painter  ;  but  he  did 
not  flourish  until  the  eighteenth  century.  We  allude 
to  Canaletto,  who  by  the  aid  of  his  magic  needle 
transferred  to  copper  the  charm  of  his  pictures.  In 
his  numerous  views  of  Venice,  full  of  vivid  lights  and 
soft  shadows,  his  figures  cradled  in  gondolas  or  walk- 
ing in  the  Piazza  of  St.  Mark,  or  gravely  seated  under 
the  Doge's  palace,  are  grouped  in  a  talented  manner 
and  cleverly  hit  off.  A  thousand  indefinable  things — 
the  unrivalled  temperature  of  Venice,  the  transpa- 
rency of  the  atmosphere,  the  purity  of  the  air,  &c., 
are  rendered  with  surprising  felicity.  Canaletto's  pic- 
tures on  the  walls  of  our  museums  seem  to  light  up 
the  works  around  and  to  transport  us  to  this  happy 
land  of  brightness  and  sunshine,  of  glowing  horizons 


46  WONDERS    OF    EN  GRAVING. 

and  marble  palaces.  The  same  qualities  in  a  leus 
degree — the  graver  being  less  suited  than  the  brush 
to  give  the  magic  of  chiaroscuro — are  also  ibund  in 
the  etchings  by  this  master.  Canaletto  stands  alone 
in  the  modern  Venetian  school ;  and  although  one 
artist,  named  Guardi,  tried  to  imitate  his  paintings, 
not  a  single  engraver  took  his  inspiration  from  his 
etchings. 

Whilst  Canaletto  was  working  at  the  best  known 
and  most  picturesque  parts  of  Venice,  a  painter  who 
enjoys  a  somewhat  exaggerated  reputation  was  en- 
graving his  own  and  his  father's  works,  and  giving 
proof  of  considerable  talent.  Domenico  Tiepolo  cer- 
tainly knew  how  to  obtain  charming  results  by  the 
etching  needle  ;  and  although  his  paintings  are  inhar- 
monious, the  predominating  color  being  yellow,  his 
etchings  are  delightful  on  account  of  their  life  and 
brightness.  One  may  look  in  vain  for  a  correct  form 
or  an  exact  outline,  his  figures  are  terribly  ill-drawn  ; 
but  the  entire  want  of  accuracy  ought  not  to  make  us 
withhold  our  admiration  from  these  seductive  and 
delightful  plates.  Justly  estimated,  Tiepolo's  prints 
are  useful  examples ;  amongst  other  things,  they  show 
what  may  be  done  in  engraving  when  the  light  is 
well  distributed,  and  many  an  artist  might  learn  the 
laws  of  chiaroscuro  by  studying  them. 

Marco  Pitteri  engraved  the  "  Seven  Sacraments  " 
after  Pietro  Longhi.  Avoiding  cross-hatching  alto- 
gether, he  employed  parallel  strokes  only,  varying 
them  in  strength  according  to  the  amount  of  light 


ENGBAVING   IN    ITALY.  47 

and  shade  required.  Although  not  very  agreeable  to 
the  eye,  this  kind  of  engraving  looks  well  enough  at  a 
little  distance.  The  series  of  the  "  Seven  Sacraments," 
which  are  this  artist's  best  works,  throw  a  curious 
light  on  Venetian  manners  in  the  eighteenth  century  ; 
but  it  is  in  his  subjects  taken  from  domestic  life  that 
Pitteri  best  repays  study.  Indeed,  in  his  engravings 
of  nearly  life-sized  heads  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Virgin, 
the  evangelists,  the  apostles,  or  in  his  portraits  after 
J.  B.  Piazzetta,  we  see  the  inadequacy  of  his  style  to 
copy  living  models.  His  plates  of  this  sort  are  posi- 
tively painful  to  look  at.  But  we  regain  our  natural 
interest  in  every  trustworthy  work  which  gives  the 
customs  of  a  country  when  we  look  at  four  plates 
after  Pietro  Longlii : — "  A  Nobleman  setting  out  for 
the  Chase  ;  his  Retainers  making  their  preparations, 
cleaning  their  Arms  ; "  and  again,  "  The  Nobleman 
at  the  Table  jovially  finishing  the  Day  with  his  Com- 
pairions."  Longhi's  pictures  engraved  by  Pitteri  gained 
for  their  author  the  too  flattering  title  of  the  Chardin 
of  Italy.  Whatever  merit  they  may  have,  they  are 
not  worthy  of  such  a  comparison,  and  all  the  en- 
graver's pains  in  rendering  them  could  not  remedy  the 
poverty  of  the  design  or  supply  qualities  which  were 
wanting. 

We  could  easily  name  other  engravers  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  who  worked  at  Venice,  and  placed 
their  talent  at  the  disposal  of  the  painters  who  flour- 
ished at  this  period.  Amongst  them  we  should  have 
to  notice  Giacomo  Leonardis  and  Pietro  Monaco ;  but 


48  WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 

the  part  these  artists  took  iu  the  general  progress  of 
art  was  so  small  that  they  merit  no  more  than  men- 
tion. Before  leaving  the  north  of  Italy,  we  must 
glance  at  the  engravers  of  Milan,  Parma,  and  Bologna, 
who  are  worthy  of  serious  attention  as  much  on  ac- 
count of  their  own  merits  as  for  the  tendencies  of 
their  schools. 

Milan. — At  Milan,  one  great  painter  inspired  a 
whole  school,  and  his  genius  influenced  an  entire 
generation  of  artists.  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  whose 
sublime  works  are  not  very  numerous,  was  expert  in 
every  branch  of  art.  As  a  painter  he  executed  the 
famous  and  well-known  "  Last  Supper  "  on  the  wall 
of  Santa  Maria  delle  Grazie ;  as  a  sculptor  he  mod- 
elled the  equestrian  statue  of  Francesco  Sforza,  de- 
stroyed by  the  French  in  1499,  when  Louis  XII. 
entered  Milan ;  as  an  architect  and  engineer  he 
superintended  the  works  of  the  Arno  Canal ;  he  was 
a  musician  also,  and  Vasari  relates  that  L.  da  Vinci 
appeared  before  Francesco  Sforza  for  the  first  time, 
at  a  fete  given  by  the  Duke,  holding  a  lyre  made  by 
himself,  and  the  company  were  so  delighted  with  the 
melodious  sounds  he  produced,  that  although  many 
musicians  were  present  all  the  applause  was  given 
to  him.  It  is  not  improbable  that  he  also  handled 
graving  and  carving  tools ;  documents  preserved  at 
Paris,  Milan  and  in  England,  bear  witness  to  the 
versatility  of  his  genius,  and  justify  this  supposition. 
In  the  dedication  of  his  book,  "  De  Proportions 


ENGRAVING    IN    ITALY.  49 

Divina,"  Luea  Paccioli  positively  asserts  that  Leo- 
nardo da  Yinci  is  the  author  of  the  woodcuts  which 
adorn  this  work  :  "  Nee  vero  multo  post,  spe  animos 
alente,  libellum  cui  de  Divina  Proportions  titulus  est, 
Ludovico  Sphorcice,  dud  Mediolanensi,  nuncupa/vi. 
Tanto  ardore  ut  schemata  quoque  sua  Vincii  nostri 
Leonardi  manibus  scalpta  f  "  The  text  is  so  explicit 
as  almost  to  preclude  discussion,  but  after  examining 
the  volume  we  find  it  difficult  to  believe  that  L.  da 
Yinci  did  more  than  supply  the  designs.  How  can 
we  suppose  that  one  of  the  greatest  artists  ever  born 
would  have  spent  his  precious  time  carefully  cutting 
out  letters,  cubes,  or  triangles  in  wood,  when  any  en- 
graver could  have  done  it  equally  well?  Amongst 
the  numerous  woodcuts  illustrating  this  book,  the 
first  alone  is  of  real  artistic  value.  It  is  a  single 
form  in  unshaded  profile.  The  precision  of  the 
drawing,  and  the  sweet,  rather  than  powerful  expres- 
sion of  the  face,  betray  the  hand  of  a  Milanese,  and 
the  name  of  Leonardo  da  Yinci  might  be  written 
under  this  figure,  and  never,  as  we  think,  be  con- 
tested. Several  other  prints  are  attributed  to  him, 
and  one,  we  believe,  with  justice.  Unless  these 
peculiar  ornaments,  which  appear  to  be  composed  of 
knotted  cords,  may  belong,  notwithstanding  the  in- 
scription in  the  centre  "  Academia  Leonardi  Yinci," 
both  as  regards  composition  and  engraving  to  some 
other  artist ;  indeed,  we  are  aware  that  some  wood- 
cuts signed  with  Albert  Diirer's  monogram,  repro- 
duce them  exactly.  It  is  not  the  same  with  "  Three 


50  WONBKES   OF    ENGRAVING. 

Horses'  Heads  ;  "  we  know  not  to  whom  to  attribute 
these  unless  to  Leonardo  da  Vinci.  We  first  saw 
this  plate  among  a  number  of  engravings  of  the  early 
Italian  school,  and  it  reminded  us  so  much  of  designs 
by  Leonardo,  which  we  had  seen  at  Milan  and  Flor- 
ence, that  we  at  once  pronounced  this  master  to  be 
the  author.  So  great  was  our  interest  that  we  were 
anxious  to  know  if  it  had  been  noticed  by  other  his- 
torians, and  we  found  that  our  idea  was  at  least  near 
the  truth,  as  Passavant  attributes  this  engraving  to 
Verrocchio,  L.  da  Yinci's  master,  and  Ottley  is  dis- 
posed to  consider  it  the  work  of  this  great  artist  him- 
self. Since  we  noticed  this  print  we  have  studied  the 
three  manuscript  volumes  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  pre- 
served in  the  splendid  collection  at  Windsor.  Great 
was  our  delight  when  we  found  the  engraving  in 
question  pasted  into  one  of  the  books  and  quoted  in 
support  of  an  opinion  written  by  Leonardo's  own 
hand.  This,  although  not  conclusive  evidence — Leo- 
nardo might  have  taken  one  of  his  master's  works  as 
an  example — certainly  merits  serious  attention.  We 
do  not  like  to  speak  positively  about  the  other  plates 
attributed  to  this  master.  We  have  examined  those 
in  the  British  Museum,  and  whilst  acknowledging 
that  we  are  reminded  of  the  style  of  the  illustrious 
Milanese  in  "  A  Woman  in  Bust  and  Profile  ;  "  "A 
Woman  crowned  with  Ivy,"  and  "  The  Head  of  an 
Old  Man,-'' — the  bust  attributed  by  Bartsch  to  Man- 
tegna, — we  reserve  our  judgment  until  further  ex- 
amination, merely  suggesting  that  although  certainly 


ENGRAVING   IN   ITALY.  51 

inspired  by  the  great  master  they  may  hare  been 
executed  in  metal  by  one  of  his  intelligent  pupils. 

If  we  have  lingered  long  over  the  engravings 
attributed  to  this  great  master,  it  is  because  we  shall 
not  again  have  so  illustrious  a  subject  to  discuss  in 
these  pages.  The  works  of  the  Milanese  school  are 
not  very  numerous,  so  we  can  afford  to  give  special 
attention  to  those  of  exceptional  merit.  As  they  are 
nearly  all  anonymous,  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to 
know  how  to  treat  them.  Three  early  plates,  en- 
graved after  Leonardo's  "  Last  Supper,"  reproduce 
this  great  composition  in  a  modified  form,  they  are  so 
interior  to  the  original  that  we  cannot  say  much  for 
them.  "  The  slightly  bent  Head  of  a  young  Girl," 
"  A  Lover  caressing  his  Mistress,"  and  "  A  Young 
Girl  courted  by  a  Man  dressed  as  a  Fool,"  remind  us 
slightly  of  the  school  of  Leonardo  da  Yinci,  but  they 
are  unsigned,  and  cannot  be  attributed  to  any  one 
with  certainty.  The  drawing  is  that  of  a  pupil, 
rather  than  of  a  master. 

We  are  less  doubtful  about  three  plates  attributed 
to  Cesare  da  Sesto.  Although  there  is  no  proof  that 
this  artist  himself  transferred  his  designs  to  metal,  we 
think  we  recognize  his  hand  in  the  "  Beheading  of 
John  the  Baptist."  The  executioner  in  the  costume 
of  the  sixth  century,  and  wearing  a  plumed  cap,  is 
sheathing  his  sword,  and  Salome,  carrying  the  Bap- 
tist's head  on  a  dish,  is  following  the  retreating  figure 
of  Herodias.  This  well-conceived  composition  re- 
minds us  of  a  hasty  sketch,  incontestably  by  L.  da 


52  WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 

Vinci,  contained  in  a  volume  of  his  designs  lately 
added  to  the  collection  in  the  Louvre.  The  two 
other  engravings  attributed  to  Cesare  da  Sesto  are  of 
quite  a  different  kind,  they  represent  "  A  Hind  re- 
clining on  an  Isle,"  and  "  A  Browsing  Stag."  It  is 
possible  that  they  were  engraved  by  the  author  of 
"  John  the  Baptist,"  but  he  certainly  did  not  draw 
them. 

Before  leaving  the  artists  of  the  early  Milanese 
school,  we  must  say  a  word  on  a  precious  volume 
containing  wood-cuts.  They  are  exquisitely  drawn 
and  belong  entirely  to  the  school  guided  by  Leonardo 
da  Vinci.  This  book — an  account  of  St.  Veronica — 
was  printed  at  Milan  in  1518.  Amongst  the  ten  en- 
gravings it  contains,  three  of  them,  remarkable  for 
the  softness  of  the  drawing  and  the  tenderness  of  the 
expression,  were  certainly  designed  by  Luini.  They 
form  the  frontispieces  of  Books  III.  V.  and  VI.  and 
are  :  "  Christ  and  St.  Veronica  reading,"  "  An  Angel 
guiding  St.  Veronica's  Hand,  who  is  writing,"  and 
''  St.  Veronica  reading  from  a  Book  held  by  an  Angel 
before  whom  she  is  kneeling." 

Parma. — We  know  that  it  would  have  seemed 
more  reasonable  to  speak  of  the  school  of  Parma  after 
we  had  reviewed  the  works  executed  at  Rome ;  but 
we  prefer  to  finish  our  history  of  engraving  in  Italy, 
with  the  town  where  the  art  attained  its  highest  per- 
fection. The  influence  of  the  Roman  school  upon 
that  of  Parma,  great  as  it  was,  was  not  complete. 


ENGRAVING    IN    ITALY.  53 

Mazzuoli,  called  Parmigiano,  followed  Raphael  it  is 
true,  but  only  in  drawing ;  the  charm,  the  beautiful 
coloring  of  his  engravings,  are  far  more  suggestive  of 
his  countryman,  the  unrivalled  Correggio,  than  of  any 
other  master.  Antonio  Allegri  of  Parma  stands 
alone  in  glory  ;  he  towers  far  above  the  rest  of  his 
school,  he  overawes  his  pupils,  he  makes  engravers 
tremble.  Before  the  indefinite  charm  of  his  works, 
which  with  good  reason  they  consider  inimitable,  they 
are  absolutely  paralyzed.  So  much  grandeur  over- 
powers them,  and  they  only  recover  calmness  enough 
to  continue  their  occupation  when  they  turn  to  the 
paintings  of  Mazzuoli,  who,  though  far  less  powerful 
than  Allegri,  is  very  clever,  and  justly  considered  to 
be  the  one  who  first  inspired  the  school  of  engraving 
at  Parma. 

Francesco  Parmigiano  was  not  only  the  best  en- 
graver of  his  school,  he  was  also  the  first,  judging 
from  the  results  he  obtained,  to  develop  fully  the  re- 
sources of  the  etching-needle.  Albert  Diirer,  and 
many  of  his  predecessors,  had  used  this  process  with- 
out improving  on  it  at  all.  In  tracing  the  design 
upon  the  varnish  the  needle  should  never  imitate  the 
work  of  the  graver ;  it  has  its  own  mission  to  fulfil, 
which  is  to  transmit  numerous  proofs  of  the  same  de- 
sign, which,  conceived  and  promptly  executed  by  the 
painter,  does  not  require  the  dangerous  interposition 
of  an  interpreter.  Etching  is,  above  all  other,  the 
engraving  best  suited  to  a  painter,  and  any  one  with  a 
knowledge  of  drawing  will  easily  learu  it.  Frances- 


54  WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 

co  Mazznoli  found  hitherto  unknown  resources  in  this 
process.  Although  the  engravings  signed  by  him 
betray  indifference  to  purity  and  want  of  finish,  they 
contain  all  that  makes  a  painter ;  they  are  full  of 
grace  and  fascination,  and  of  a  kind  of  beauty  which 
is  inferior  neither  to  the  bold  and  vigorous,  nor  to  the 
free  and  easy  style.  They  also  show  a  knowledge  of 
chiaroscuro,  which  had  escaped  the  predecessors  of 
Parmigiano,  and  in  this  their  connection  with  the 
school  which  gave  birth  to  Correggio  is  clearly  seen. 
Religious  subjects  did  not  suit  Parmigiano's  taste 
so  well  as  those  taken  from  mythology.  His  "  Christ " 
is  too  suggestive  of  Adonis  ;  under  his  needle  the 
"  Virgin "  is  vain  and  worldly.  Out  of  place  in 
many  instances,  this  affectation  is  not  so  painful  in 
heathen  figures  such  as  "  Polyhymnia,"  or  "  Venus 
drying  herself  in  leaving  the  Bath,"  where  the  artist's 
fancy  is  freer.  From  their  first  appearance,  the  etch- 
ings by  Parmigiano  were  as  successful  as  his  paint- 
ings. They  were  greedily  sought  after,  and  several 
of  his  pupils,  anxious  to  share  their  master's  popular- 
ity, endeavored  to  appropriate  the  process  he  had 
raised  to  such  honor.  One  of  them,  A.  Meldolla, 
succeeded  so  well,  that  his  works  were  sometimes 
mistaken  for  Mazzuoli's.  Modern  learning  has  recti- 
fied this  confusion.  Working  side  by  side  with  Par- 
migiano, under  his  daily  influence,  and  generally 
copying  his  works,  Meldolla  at  last  became  so  identi- 
fied with  his  master  in  his  manner  of  looking  nt  and 
rendering  nature,  that  the  mistakes  to  which  his  en- 


ENGRAVING   IN   ITALY.  55 

gravings  have  given  rise  are  quite  excusable.  This 
obedience  to  his  master's  principles  was  so  complete, 
that  when  Meldolla  engraved  Raphael's  works,  he 
made  them  so  suggestive  of  Mazzuoli's  style,  that  had 
not  the  author  of  the  originals  been  well  known,  they 
might  have  been  attributed  to  Paraiigiano.  Yet  these 
two  artists  (Meldolla  and  Mazzuoli)  engraved  by  dif- 
ferent processes.  Whilst  Mazzuoli  always  employed 
aquafortis  only,  Andrea  Meldolla  sometimes  called 
the  graver  to  his  aid,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  employ 
the  dry-point,  that  is  to  say,  he  drew  with  a  needle 
on  the  bare  metal,  so  as  to  obtain  results  which  the 
acid  eating  into  the  plate  could  not  reproduce,  and 
which  the  graver  is  incapable  of  rendering.  He  also 
made  attempts  at  chiaroscuro  engraving  on  copper. 
By  means  of  two  or  three  successive  printings,  he 
tried  to  produce  what  engravers  "en  camdieu"  ob- 
tained so  well — the  appearance  of  a  washed  drawing; 
and  this  attempt  at  Parma  is  curious,  as  it  was  in  that 
town  that  engravers  "  en  camdieu "  seem  to  have 
combined  together  to  render  Francesco  Mazzuoli's 
works.  A  composition  signed  with  Meldolla's  name 
and  dated  1540,  "  The  carrying  away  of  Helen,"  ad- 
mitted him  to  the  rank  of  an  engraver  ;  but  until  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century  his  prints  were  never- 
theless attributed  to  Andrea  Schiavone,  a  Yenetian 
painter,  a  pupil  of  Titian  and  Giorgione,  or  they  were 
mixed  up  with  the  anonymous  works  of  the  school  of 
Parma. 

Francesco  Mazzuoli  had  no  successors :    he   had 


56  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING . 

guided  a  large  school ;  he  had  enjoyed  an  immense 
renown  during  his  life,  but  his  influence  died  with 
him,  and  when  her  chief  was  gone,  Parma  no  longer 
possessed  a  school  of  engraving. 

Bologna. — Whoever  has  been  to  Bologna  can  tes- 
tify to  the  homogeneity  of  the  school  which  arose 
there.  No  museum  gives  a  better  notion  of  the  artists 
of  a  country  than  the  Pinacoteca  of  Bologna,  where 
the  national  masters  are  represented  by  their  best 
works,  and  celebrated  pictures  are  chronologically 
arranged  from  the  time  of  the  origin  of  the  art  to  the 
middle  of  the  sixteenth  century.  It  would  be  impos 
sible  to  form  a  better  idea  elsewhere  of  Bolognese 
artists.  The  archives  and  official  papers  have  been 
carefully  searched,  and  the  great  works  examined  by 
the  historians  of  local  art,  but  all  this  avails  engrav- 
ing very  little,  and  it  is  necessary  to  see  the  works 
themselves  to  judge  of  the  artists  born  at  Bologna  or 
influenced  by  her  school. 

The  earliest  engraver,  Francesco  Raibolini,  called 
il  Francia,  engraved  several  nielli  referred  to  above. 
He  had  two  relations,  both  painters,  Giulio  and  Gia- 
como  Francia,  who  engraved  with  little  refinement, 
and  in  whose  works  the  style  of  this  school  is  easily 
seen.  The  type  of  their  figures  is  almost  Venetian, 
but  the  chiaroscuro  is  wanting,  and  the  engraving 
itself  betrays  inexperience.  These  two  artists,  per- 
haps, deserve  severe  criticism,  but  side  by  side  with 
them  arose  an  engraver  whose  works  placed  him  in 


EXGRAVIXG    IX    ITALY.  57 

front  among  the  masters  of  his  art.  Marc-Antonio 
Raimondi  was  born  at  Bologna,  he  worked  under 
Francesco  Francia,  learnt  the  rudiments  of  his  art 
from  him,  and  at  first  copied  his  designs.  It  was 
later,  wlien  through  copying  Albert  Diirer's  prints,  he 
had  acquired  perfect  knowledge  of  drawing  and  great 
skill  in  handling  the  graver,  that  he  thought  of  devot- 
ing himself  entirely  to  the  service  of  Raphael.  "When 
we  consider  the  Roman  school  it  will  be  time  enough 
to  reflect  on  the  merits  of  this  most  celebrated  of  the 
engravers  of  Bologna,  and  we  shall  then  show  the 
influence  which  Marc-Antonio  exercised  over  the 
school  of  which  he  was  the  founder  and  the  chief. 
The  truth  is,  that  the  school  of  Bologna  did  not  as- 
sume real  importance  until  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  Just  before  the  time  of  the  Carracci,  artists 
in  Bologna  began  to  handle  the  graver,  and  their 
style  was  subsequently  developed  by  the  Carracci. 
Bartolomeo  Passarotti,  Camillo  Procaccini  and  Do- 
menico  Tibaldi,  belonged  to  a  community  where  art- 
ists and  artisans  mixed  freely  together,  but  they  soon 
left  it,  and  established  a  rival  society  headed  by  Pas- 
sarotti. But  these  artists,  whose  style  was  rough  and 
their  drawing  somewhat  coarse,  failed  to  attract  art- 
ists to  their  school.  They  needed  an  authority  which 
their  works  did  not  give  them.  It  was  the  Carracci 
who  established,  if  they  did  not  actually  found,  the 
school  of  Bologna.  The  first  who  began  this  work 
was  Luigi  Carracci.  He  was  a  laborious  worker  of 
some  creative  power ;  and  these  qualities,  added  to  a 


58  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

great  desire  for  fame,  were  excellent  in  a  reformer. 
Being  extremely  energetic,  the  irksomeness  of  the 
work  only  increased  his  perseverance.  His  cousins, 
Agostino  and  Annibale,  who  were  more  talented  than 
himself,  seconded  his  efforts,  and  whilst  he  devoted 
himself  chiefly  to  the  study  of  drawing,  they  endeav- 
ored to  bring  artists  back  to  true  study  of  nature  and 
a  real  knowledge  of  the  works  of  the  great  masters. 
Raphael,  Correggio,  and  Titian  were  their  favorite 
models,  and  after  travelling  about  to  obtain  a  thor- 
ough acquaintance  with  the  works  of  the  masters  of 
their  choice,  they  returned  to  Bologna  and  opened  the 
celebrated  academies,  "  degli  Desiderosi  "  and  "  degl' 
Incaminati."  In  the  first  were  classed  rising  artists, 
pupils  of  the  Carracci,  in  the  second  there  were  none 
but  artists  whose  genius  was  already  developed,  or 
amateurs  who  recognized  the  founders  of  the  school 
as  the  true  reformers  of  art.  The  Carracci  revived 
engraving  as  well  as  painting.  Luigi  was  again  the 
first  to  give  expression  to  his  ideas  on  copper,  but  he 
had  no  greater  facility  for  this  art  than  for  painting. 
He  only  accomplished  six  or  seven  plates,  none  of 
which  show  as  much  cleverness  as  those  by  his 
cousins. 

Notwithstanding  the  prodigious  number  of  his 
paintings,  Annibale  Carracci  found  time  to  engrave  a 
few  plates.  Two  of  them  in  particular  assure  him  a 
high  position  among  Italian  engravers :  "  The  Dead 
Christ  supported  by  the  Holy  Women "  ^  (1597), 

*  The  original  plate  is  still  in  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  at  Bologna. 


ENGRAVING   EST   ITALY.  59 

known  under  the  name  of  the  "  Christ  of  Caprarola," 
because  it  was  executed  in  that  town,  is  engraved  en- 
tirely with  the  graving-tool  with  a  fineness  of  touch 
and  justice  of  expression  rarely  attained  by  this  art- 
ist ;  and  '•  A  Drunken  Silenus  drinking  from  a  Leath- 
ern Bottle,  held  to  him  by  a  Satyr,"  shows  the  same 
qualities.  In  this  print,  Annibale  Carracci  has  not 
striven  for  effect,  he  has  been  content  to  illustrate  the 
science  of  design,  and  he  has  succeeded  perfectly.  In 
another  plate,  "  The  Holy  Family  "  (Anni.  Car.  in  fe, 
1590),  he  has  concerned  himself  chiefly  with  color. 
But  here  he  overrated  his  power,  the  transition  from 
black  to  white  are  too  abrupt  and  hard  ;  the  faces  are 
not  as  carefully  drawn  as  usual,  and  though  the  head 
of  the  Virgin  is  accurately  designed,  the  plate  is  of 
no  great  merit. 

The  two  Carracci  of  whom  we  have  been  speak- 
ing only  gave  a  small  portion  of  their  time  to  en- 
graving. It  was  different  with  Agostino  Carracci. 
We  know  of  a  good  many  paintings  by  him,  but  his 
works  in  engraving  are  still  more  numerous  ;  they 
consist  of  head  and  tail-pieces  for  books,  sacred  im- 
ages, historical  pictures  and  portraits.  His  style  too 
often  reminds  us  of  that  of  Italianized  artists,  such  as 
Cornelius  Cort  and  Philip  Thomasin.  Agostino  Car- 
racci, who  drew  better  than  any  of  them,  and  under- 
stood more  thoroughly  the  art  of  eno-ravins;,  made  the 

O         v  O  O' 

mistake  of  producing  too  much.  When  he  repro- 
duced works  by  Paul  Veronese  or  Tintoretto,  he  did 
not  succeed  in  rendering  their  grandeur  and  beauty, 


60  WONDERS    OF   ENGRAVING. 

and  without  the  charm  of  color,  their  designs  are 
made  to  appear  inadequate  and  sometimes  coarse.  It 
is  the  same  with  an  engraving  of  "  Ecee  Homo  "  after 
Correggio,  which  is  a  harsh  rendering  of  that  great 
master's  work.  But  in  the  most  famous  of  his  works, 
in  all  respects  worthy  of  the  favor  it  enjoys,  the 
superb  portrait  of  Titian,  Agostino  Carracci  has  sur- 
passed himself.  The  noble  master  is  represented  in 
bust,  wearing  a  cap  and  the  fur-lined  cloak  he  loved 
so  well.  We  can  imagine  that  in  working  at  this  por- 
trait of  Titian  by  himself,  the  engraver  was  inspired 
by  the  genius  of  the  master  whose  features  he  was 
copying,  for  never  before  had  he  showed  so  much  tal- 
ent or  so  thorough  a  comprehension  of  the  human 
countenance. 

The  influence  of  the  school  directed  by  the  Car- 
racci was  great,  and  the  artists  belonging  to  it  re- 
mained faithful  to  the  principles  there  instilled. 
Amongst  them  there  were  many  whose  works  until 
quite  recently  were  attributed  to  their  masters.  This 
led  to  many  names  remaining  unknown.  Two  art- 
ists have  escaped  oblivion,  Francesco  Brizzio,  author 
of  the  "  Repose  in  Egypt,"  after  Correggio,  engraved 
with  a  very  heavy  graver,  and  Giovanni  Yalesio,  a 
painter,  poet,  master  of  the  lute,  of  dancing,  and  of 
fencing,  who,  living  at  a  distance  from  his  master, 
Agostino  Carracci,  nevertheless  almost  always  repro- 
duced his  works.  Giovanni  Lanfranco  belongs  to  the 
same  school,  and  his  ability  as  a  painter — his  talent 
was  too  facile  and  his  taste  sometimes  doubtful — 


EKG RAVING   IN    ITALY.  61 

gives  him  a  distinguished  place  beside  the  Carracci 
whose  pupil  he  was.  We  are  indebted  to  him  for 
some  engravings  after  the  "  Loggie "  of  Raphael, 
dedicated  to  Annibale  Carracci.  They  are  remark- 
able fur  an  ease  and  skill  rare  amongst  the  engravers 
of  these  immortal  works. 

When  the  influence  of  the  school  of  the  Carracci 
began  to  decline,  new  artists  arose  who  revived  the 
principles  of  their  predecessors  and  restored  the  art 
of  Bologna  to  its  former  splendor.  Guido  Reni,  who 
left  many  admired  paintings,  also  etched  a  number  of 
plates.  The  ordinary  type  of  his  painted  figures  is 
feeble  and  insignificant,  and  he  engraved  them  with 
too  much  freedom.  Good  workmanship  is  not  all 
that  is  required ;  we  could  have  wished  for  more 
grandeur  in  his  "  Holy  Families,"  more  majesty  in 
the  heads  of  Christ  and  of  the  Virgin.  These  etch- 
ings are  well  and  artistically  designed,  but  it  is  a  pity 
that  the  "  Virgin  adoring  the  Infant  Christ "  is  too 
pretty  and  not  sufficiently  divine ;  her  smile  is  often 
studied  and  unreal,  and  the  general  expression  of  her 
face  insipid  and  affected.  Still  the  execution  is  grace- 
ful and  contains  effects  which  none  of  this  master's 
imitators  have  been  able  to  render.  Simone  Canta- 
rini,  called  the  Pesarese,  whose  style  most  resembled 
that  of  Guido  Reni,  was  not  so  successful  with  dra- 
pery, but  in  the  pose  of  the  head  he  has  quite  equalled 
his  master.  Andrea  Sirani,  Lorenzo  Lolli,  and  some 
other  painters  preserved  Guido  Reni's  manner,  and 
followed  him  accurately  in  their  etchings,  but  as  these 


62  WONDKR8   OF   ENGRAVING. 

are  mere  copies  they  do  not  deserve  a  place  in  the 
history  of  art. 

It  is  different  with  Domenico  Zarapieri,  an  artist 
of  high  rank,  wbo  though  born  at  Bologna,  was  thor- 
oughly imbued  with  the  exalted  principles  of  the  Ro- 
man school,  and  gained  for  himself  an  exceptionally 
high  place  among  artists.  Poussin  considered  him 
one  of  the  greatest  masters  after  Raphael,  and  Guido 
assigned  him  similar  rank.  He  did  not  engrave,  at 
least  no  plate  is  attributed  to  him  with  certainty. 
We  may  well  be  surprised  that  his  style  and  knowl- 
edge inspired  so  few  of  his  contemporaries,  for  we 
cannot  consider  the  two  we  are  about  to  mention  his 
engravers.  Giacomo  Margottini  executed  one  plate, 
the  six  "  Christian  Virtues,"  after  this  master,  and 
Piero  del  P6  sometimes  followed  his  style,  though 
generally  preferring  the  works  of  Nicolas  Poussin. 
If  contemporary  artists  cared  little  to  reproduce  Do- 
menichino's  works,  those  of  the  next  generation  res- 
cued them  from  undeserved  oblivion,  and  largely 
multiplied  and  distributed  them.  Their  plates  have 
often  served  as  models  to  artists ;  and  although  Do- 
menichino's  influence  was  not  at  first  sufficiently 
great,  it  lasted  long,  and  his  works  are  now,  we  are 
glad  to  say,  estimated  at  their  true  value. 

Giovanni  Francesco  Barbieri,  better  known  as 
Guercino,  may  be  considered  the  last  celebrated  artist 
of  the  Bolognese  school,  but  he  attached  himself  to 
no  master  in  particular.  He  worked  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  Carracci,  it  is  true,  but  he  departed  so 


Fig.  5.— Lucretia  stabbing  Herself.    MJEC-AXTOXIO  RAIMOKDI. 


ENGRAVING    IN    ITALY.  65 

widely  from  their  style,  that,  fairly  speaking,  he  can- 
not be  considered  their  pupil.  He  holds  a  high  place 
in  their  school,  we  think  too  high.  We  do  not  ap- 
prove of  his  sudden  changes  from  shadow  to  light. 
He  had  little  true  love  (  f  art,  though  his  facility  of 
production  was  immense,  and  his  etchings,  exact  rep- 
resentations of  his  numerous  drawings,  share  their 
faults.  In  them  clever  and  rapid  execution  take  the 
place  of  correctness  of  drawing  and  nobility  of  ex- 
pression. 

Rome. — At  Rome  there  were  not  BO  many  skilfu. 
engravers  as  in  other  Italian  cities.  Like  painting, 
engraving  developed  there  slowly,  and  the  founder  of 
the  Roman  school,  Marc-Antonio  Raimondi,  was  a 
native  of  Bologna.  We  have  already  spoken  of  him, 
but  at  that  time  he  was  still  seeking  his  vocation, 
hovering  between  the  school  of  his  master  Francia 
and  that  of  the  "Venetian  artists,  and  even  influenced 
by  Albert  Diirer,  whose  engravings  had  just  pene- 
trated into  Italy.  But  his  style  was  permanently 
formed  as  soon  as  he  arrived  in  the  Eternal  City,  to 
which  he  was  attracted  by  the  fame  of  Raphael. 
Guided  by  this  master,  he  engraved  "  Lucretia  stab- 
bing Herself"  with  such  success,  that  Raphael  at 
once  decided  to  retain  so  clever  an  engraver  near 
him  ;  and  it  would  appear  that  he  gave  him  the  ex- 
clusive right  to  reproduce  his  works. 

Raimondi's  engravings  now  succeeded  each  other 
in  quick  succession.  The  "  Massacre  of  the  Inno- 


66  WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 

cents,"  "  Adam  and  Eve,"  "  The  Judgment  of  Paris," 
and  "  Poetry,"  to  mention  only  extraordinary  works, 
are  splendid  instances  of  the  intelligence  with  which 
the  engraver  rendered  on  metal  the  drawings  of  the 
painter.  Marc-Antonio  reproduced  drawings  only, 
and  never  attempted  to  copy  direct  from  the  paint- 
ings of  Raphael — a  fact  worthy  of  notice,  as  did  one 
not  know  the  cause,  the  engravings,  deprived  of  their 
picturesque  effects,  might  be  accused  of  not  giving 
the  tone  of  the  original  paintings.  For  those  who 
know  Raphael's  works  this  observation  will  appear 
of  little  value.  It  is  easy  to  perceive  that  "  Poetry," 
engraved  by  Raimondi,  is  no  more  an  exact  image  of 
the  fresco  in  the  Vatican  than  is  his  "  St.  Cecilia  "  of 
the  painting  in  the  Bologna  Museum.  Remembering 
that  engraving  in  Marc- Antonio's  hands  was  not  suit- 
ed to  rendering  his  paintings,  Raphael  preferred  to 
give  him  his  preparatory  studies  on  paper,  and  in  this 
he  showed  his  admirable  taste  and  clear  judgment. 

Marc- Antonio  devoted  the  greater  part  of  his  ex- 
istence to  multiplying  Raphael's  works.  But  he  was 
not  content  with  this.  We  have  already  said,  that 
before  founding  the  Roman  school  of  engraving,  he 
hesitated  a  long  time,  and  showed  great  perseverance 
in  seeking  a  path  for  himself.  Arrived  at  Rome,  the 
great  master  whom  he  joined  did  not  discourage  his 
looking  round  on  the  works  then  sharing  public  at- 
tention with  his  own  ;  and  we  could  mention  engrav- 
ings executed  in  Rome  by  Marc-Antonio  Raimondi 
after  other  masters  than  Raphael.  But  he  is  so  iin- 


ENGRAVING   IN    ITALY.  67 

bned  with  the  exalted  principles  of  the  master  of  his 
choice,  that  he  cannot  altogether  ignore  them.  In 
"  The  Climbers,"  for  example,  engraved  after  the 
celebrated  cartoon  of  Pisa  by  Michael  Angelo,  or  in 
the  "  Martyrdom  of  St.  Lawrence,"  by  Baccio  Ban- 
dinelli,  we  rind  an  amount  of  precision,  a  reserved 
power  probably  rather  exceeding  that  of  the  original 
drawings.  Kor  is  it  impossible  that  Marc-Antonio 
engraved  some  compositions  in  which  the  figures,  at 
least,  were  original.  But  the  plates  attributed  to  his 
pencil,  as  well  as  to  his  graver,  are  inferior  in  pre- 
cision and  knowledge  to  the  others.  Must  we  not 
conclude  that  this  artist,  so  clever  in  interpreting  the 
works  of  others,  requires  a  powerful  hand  to  guide 
and  a  strong  mind  to  advise  him.  The  truth  is,  that 
unlike  most  artists,  Marc-Antonio  Raimondi  obtained 
his  great  reputation  because  he  was  able  to  renounce 
his  own  personality,  because  he  reproduced  contem- 
porary works  faithfully,  with  respect,  almost  with 
veneration,  for  the  painters  at  whose  service  he 
placed  his  knowledge  and  his  skill. 

This  rare  power,  added  to  consummate  knowledge 
of  drawing  and  engraving,  bore  ample  fruit.  Hav- 
ing obediently  submitted  himself  to  Raphael,  Marc- 
Antonio  became  a  master  in  his  turn.  Pupils  hur 
ried  from  all  countries  eager  to  take  lessons  from  him 
and  profit  by  his  counsels ;  and,  thanks  to  his  influ 
ence,  Rome  at  length  acquired  a  school  of  engraving. 
Those  who  approached  most  nearly  to  the  master's  style 
were  Agostino  Yeneziano  and  Marco  of  Ravenna. 


68  WON  DEES   OF    ENGRAVING. 

Under  Marc-Antonio's  direct  influence,  often  working 
with  his  eye  upon  them,  they  imitated  his  style  so 
exactly  that  their  works  were  sometimes  taken  for 
his — an  error  which  sufficiently  proves  their  merits. 

Like  Marc-Antonio,  Agostino  Veneziano  was  a 
long  time  finding  his  vocation.  In  order  to  acquire 
ease  in  handling  the  graver,  he  copied  some  engrav 
ings  by  Giulio  Campagnola,  rendered  compositions 
by  A.  Diirer,  and  on  joining  the  Roman  school,  not 
having  as  yet  yielded  to  the  all-powerful  fascination 
of  Raphael,  he  rendered  several  compositions  by 
Bandinelli  with  all  their  exaggeration  and  bombast. 
He  did  not  place  himself  under  Raphael's  influence 
until  towards  the  end  of  that  master's  life,  about 
1516.  His  manner  at  once  acquired  a  power  and 
nobility  of  which  there  is  no  hint  in  his  early  works, 
and  the  prints  lie  engraved  from  this  date  are  un- 
doubtedly his  best. 

Marco  Dente,  or  Marco  of  Ravenna  (he  is  known 
under  the  latter  name  in  France)  was  more  ready  to 
assimilate  himself  to  his  master's  style.  He  rendered 
several  of  Marc- Antonio's  engravings,  and  although 
his  copies  have  not  the  same  precision  of  drawing  or 
firmness  of  touch,  they  give  a  very  good  notion  of 
the  originals.  If  we  admit,  with  some  authors,  that 
the  second  plate,  known  as  the  "  Massacre  of  the 
Innocents,"  is  the  work  of  Marco  of  Ravenna,  we 
must  add  that  the  pupil  has  in  this  one  case  ap- 
proached his  master  very  nearly.  This  engraving 
leaves  us  very  doubtful  as  to  its  author.  The  firm- 


ENGRAVING    IN    ITALY.  69 

ness  of  touch,  or,  we  should  rather  say,  the  general 
beauty,  is  very  striking,  and  places  its  author,  who- 
ever he  may  be,  beside  Raimondi.  If  it  be  by  Marco 
of  Ravenna,  it  is  his  only  work  of  great  merit,  and 
but  for  it,  the  modest  office  of  copyist,  to  which  he 
almost  exclusively  devoted  himself,  would  scarcely 
have  sufficed  to  give  him  a  prominent  place  in  the 
history  of  art.  Several  artists,  though  they  pro- 
ceeded from  his  school,  departed  in  some  points  from 
Raimondi's  rules.  Amongst  them  was  Jacopo  Ca- 
raglio,  an  artist  of  Verona,  mentioned  by  Aretino  in 
the  u  Cortigiana  ;  "  according  to  him,  Caraglio  is  the 
cleverest  engraver  after  Marc-Antonio.  It  is  only 
just  to  add  that  he  owes  this  very  favorable  mention 
to  the  "  Loves  of  the  Gods  "  engraved  after  Fierino 
del  Taga  and  Rosso  ;  and  it  was  probably  the  sub- 
ject, rather  than  the  execution,  which  interested  and 
fascinated  the  engraver's  apologist.  It  is  difficult  to 
define  Caraglio's  manner.  It  is  manifold.  JSTow  he 
engraves  with  a  free  hand,  as  in  the  "  Loves  of  the 
Gods ;  "  now,  as  in  an  extensive  series  of  "  Heathen 
Deities  in  Kiches,"  his  style  is  precise  and  correct, 
and  reminds  one  by  its  neatness  of  Marc- Antonio's 
manner ;  at  other  times  his  drawing  is  coarse  and 
offensive.  Caraglio  seldom  expresses  grace,  he  excels 
more  in  force,  as  seen  in  his  engraving  of  the  "  Vir- 
gin and  St.  Anne  between  St.  Sebastian  and  St. 
Roch,"  which  he  composed  himself,  and  which  is 
really  valuable  for  its  rarity  rather  than  for  the  ex- 
alted style  of  the  Virgin's  beauty. 


& 


70  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

Giulio  Bonasone  departs  still  further  from  Marc- 
Antonio's  school  than  even  Caraglio.  His  pleasing 
graver  often  conceals  gross  negligence.  His  numer- 
ous works  comprise  engravings  of  every  sort.  Exe- 
cuted from  1531  to  1574,  they  vary  in  value  accord- 
ing to  the  rank  of  the  artists  after  whom  they  were 
composed.  Bonasone  reproduced  some  drawings  by 
Raphael  and  Michael  Angelo,  and,  though  falling 
far  short  of  the  originals,  his  engravings  are  not 
without  charm ;  generally,  however,  he  succeeded 
better  with  less  exalted  masters,  who  were  more 
within  his  reach.  Parmigiano  supplied  him  with  a 
great  number  of  subjects  to  engrave,  and  he  has  re- 
produced on  copper  several  compositions  of  his  own. 
On  the  whole,  remembering  the  originals  of  Bona- 
sone's  prints,  we  think  we  cannot  call  them  more 
than  ingenious.  They  have  none  of  the  best  quali- 
ties ;  arranged  with  ease,  perhaps  with  too  much 
ease,  they  err  in  the  drawing  which  wants  power, 
and  they  err  in  the  execution  which  is  too  hasty. 
The  engraver  has  sacrificed  quality  to  quantity, 
working  much  without  caring  to  work  well.  Cesare 
Reverdino,  a  fellow-countryman  and  contemporary 
of  Bonasone,  engraved,  sometimes  with  the  needle 
and  sometimes  with  the  graver,  several  small  com- 
positions which,  in  their  size  at  l^ast,  remind  us  cf 
the  works  of  inferior  German  artists,  or  of  the  en- 
gravers of  the  school  of  Lyons.  He  was  the  first 
Italian  artist  who  succeeded  in  rendering  complicated 
subjects  in  such  a  limited  space  without  sacrificing 


EN-GRAVING    IN    ITALY.  71 

the  expression  or  losing  the  picturesque  effect.  These 
engravings  were  executed  from  1531  to  1554.  The 
"  Master  of  the  Die  "  was  one  of  the  cleverest  of 
the  artists,  who  were  strongly  influenced  by  Marc- 
Antonio,  and  endeavored  to  copy  his  style  without 
taking  direct  lessons  from  him.  He  often  copied 
Raphael,  and  when  not  following  him  he  did  not 
leave  the  Roman  school,  but  sought  his  models  in  the 
works  of  Giulio  Romano  and  Balthazar  Peruzzi. 
The  "  History  of  Psyche  "  was  entirely  engraved  by 
the  "  Master  of  the  Die."  Several  of  these  impor- 
tant plates  have  been  considered  Marc- Antonio's  com- 
positions, but  the  engraving  is  more  clumsy  than  his 
and  the  design  less  scholarly.  In  spite  of  this  the 
care  with  which  the  artist  has  preserved  the  char- 
acter of  the  drawings  attributed  to  some  Fleming 
copying  Raphael's  works,  gives  the  "  Master  of  the 
Die  "  a  high  position  in  the  Roman  school. 

A  native  of  Parma,  ^Eneas  Yico,  came  to  Rome 
as  soon  as  he  knew  enough  to  profit  by  regular  in- 
struction. He  at  once  yielded  to  the  influence  of 
Marc-Antonio.  His  first  occupation  on  arriving  in 
Rome  was  to  reproduce  the  engravings  by  that  mas- 
ter in  order  to  gain  facility  in  the  use  of  the  graver. 
Compelled  later  to  comply  with  the  requirements  of 
the  editor  Tomaso  Barlacchi, — who  shared  with  An- 
drea Salamanca  the  trade  in  engravings  at  Rome, — 
he  copied  simultaneously  the  compositions  of  Maz- 
zuoli,  of  Perino  del  Vaga,  and  of  Vasari.  Towards 
1545  he  left  Rome  and  went  to  Florence,  where, 


72  WONDEKS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

under  the  special  protection  of  Cosmo  II.  of  Medici, 
he  occupied  himself  entirely  with  the  reproduction 
of  the  works  of  Baccio  Bandinelli.  His  talent  had 
now  attained  its  fullest  development,  and  the  "  Leda," 
executed  after  Michael  Angelo,  must  be  considered 
one  of  his  best  engravings.  The  execution  in  this 
plate  recalls  to  us  the  dignity  of  Marc-Antonio's 
works,  but  at  the  same  time  Michael  Angelo's  draw- 
ing, fall  of  his  genius  and  energy,  is  faithfully  ren- 
dered. -<Eneas  Vico  remained  only  five  years  at 
Florence.  In  1550  we  find  him  at  Venice.  There 
his  first  engraving  was  the  "  Portrait  of  Charles  V.," 
which  was  most  successful.  It  was  presented  to  the 
emperor  with  ceremony,  several  descriptions  of  it 
were  published,  and  many  artists  copied  it.  At 
Rome  ./Eneas  Vico  was  able  to  appreciate  the  monu- 
ments of  antiquity.  Having  been  instrumental  in 
the  discoveries  of  paintings  and  bas-reliefs  made  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  he  engraved  some  of  these 
venerable  relics  of  bygone  civilizations.  At  Venice 
he  turned  towards  this  kind  of  work  from  choice. 
He  published  several  collections  of  antique  medals, 
and  designed  ornaments  in  the  manner  of  the  ancients. 
In  this  he  may  be  said  not  only  to  have  followed  but 
to  have  inaugurated  a  new  style,  and  one  which  we 
own  corresponded  with  the  requirements  of  the  age ; 
erudition  already  occupied  a  large  place  in  Italian 
art,  now,  alas  !  deprived  of  its  primitive  charm. 

An  entire  family  of  engravers,  natives  of  Mantua, 
adopted  Marc-Antonio's  style  on  arriving  in  Rome, 


ENGRAVING   IN    ITALY.  73 

and  they  endeavored  to  modify  it  to  suit  their  own 
inclinations,  but  the  inevitable  result  of  their  study 
of  Iris  works  was  that  they  became  disciples  of  the 
great  Roman  school.  This  family,  the  head  of  which 
was  Giovanni  Battista  Scultori,  passed  the  greater 
part  of  their  existence  at  Rome.  After  working  as 
a  painter  in  the  "  Palazzo  del  T."  at  Mantua,  under 
Giulio  Romano,  Giovanni  Battista  practised  engrav- 
ing. He  has  left  about  twenty  plates,  almost  all  after 
Giulio  Romano,  which  fairly  render  that  master's 
manner.  They  are  carefully  executed,  and  "  The 
Naval  Combat,"  Scultori's  chief  work,  is  distin- 
guished by  remarkable  knowledge  of  drawing,  and 
great  command  of  the  burin.  But  Giovanni  Bat- 
tista's  two  children,  Diana  and  Adamo,  gained  more 
renown  than  their  father.  It  is  believed  that  they 
devoted  themselves  entirely  to  engraving.  As  was 
natural,  Diana  at  first  took  lessons  from  her  father, 
and  she  was  also  guided  at  first  by  the  influence  of 
Giulio  Romano,  but  when  she  went  to  Rome  and  her 
taste  became  formed,  her  style  completely  changed. 
As  she  arrived  long  after  the  death  of  Raphael,  she 
could  not  have  the  benefit  of  direct  instruction  from 
this  great  master,  and  she  had  nothing  to  guide  her 
but  the  works  of  his  inferior  pupils,  Raphaellino  da 
Reggio  and  the  Zuccari.  Yet  in  her  engravings  she 
contrived  to  recall  the  style  of  the  great  school  which 
she  knew  only  through  the  works  of  Giulio  Romano, 
and  she  did  this  with  truly  marvellous  skill  in  her 
later  works  after  this  master,  viz.,  "  The  Nuptials 


74:  WONDERS    OF   ENGRAVING. 

of  Psyche,"  "  The  Banquet  of  the  Gods,"  and  the 
"  Bath  of  Mars  and  Veims."  These  three  engrav- 
ings, which,  with  a  fidelity  of  execution  rare  in  a 
woman,  most  faithfully  reproduce  the  frescoes  pre- 
served in  the  "  Palazzo  del  T."  are  the  most  cele- 
brated cf  Diana  Scultori's  works.  Adamo,  Diana's 
brother,  began  work  very  young ;  his  father  placed 
the  burin  in  his  hand  at  a  very  early  age.  There 
exists  a  "  "Virgin  nursing  the  Infant  Jesus,"  signed 
"  Adamo  Sculptor,  an.  xi."  So  that  when  only 
eleven  years  old  he  had  already  copied  an  engraving 
of  his  father's.  Beginning  so  young,  his  works  were 
of  course  very  numerous ;  we  know  more  than  a 
hundred  engravings  which  bear  his  name. 

They  remind  us  of  those  by  Diana,  and,  like 
hers,  they  render  happily  the  compositions  of  Giulio 
Romano.  They  show  particular  aptitude  in  render- 
ing the  antique  style  of  that  master's  works,  and 
they  even  exaggerate  the  appearance  of  bas-relief  in 
certain  of  his  compositions.  Adamo  Scultori  engaged 
in  trade  in  engravings.  We  find  his  name  under  a 
great  many  prints  which  he  published  without  taking 
part  in  their  production.  Amongst  these  some  were 
executed  at  the  end  of  the  century  after  Martmelli 
and  Zuccharo. 

We  have  restored  their  own  name,  Scultori,  to 
these  artists.  It  is  not  many  years  since  they  passed 
for  members  of  the  Ghisi  family,  because  an  artist 
of  that  name,  the  most  illustrious  of  the  Mantuan 
engravers,  so  completely  combined  all  the  essential 


EXGKAVING   IN   ITALY.  75 

qualities  of  the  school  founded  under  the  influence 
of  Giulio  Romano,  that  he  eclipsed  the  fame  of  the 
artists  who  preceded  him.  But  there  was  no  relation 
between  Giorgio  Ghisi  and  the  Scultori.  Their  conn- 

M  o 

try  was  the  same,  that  was  all.  Giorgio  was  born 
about  1520.  He  is  supposed  to  have  worked  under 
Giovanni  Battista  Scultori  with  Diana  and  Adamo, 
with  whom  he  had  several  qualities  in  common.  He, 
however,  soon  surpassed  them  and  left  the  school  of 
Mantua  earlier  than  they  did.  He  went  to  Rome 
when  still  very  young.  There  he  studied  Marc- 
Antonio's  engravings,  trying  to  imitate  them,  and 
taking  his  inspiration  from  compositions  by  Raphael 
and  Michael  Angelo.  He  engraved  the  "  Prophets 
and  the  Sibyls,"  after  the  latter,  in  which  he  showed 
consummate  knowledge  of  drawing,  and  he  managed 
to  translate  the  grandeur  of  the  compositions  in  the 
vault  of  the  Sistine  Chapel  to  his  engravings.  And 
yet,  his  burin  being  rather  heavy,  it  has  given  a  dull 
appearance  to  these  noble  figures,  and  the  execution 
looks  labored.  Nevertheless,  these  engravings  by 
Giorgio  Ghisi  are  very  superior  to  those  by  other 
artists  of  the  school  of  Mantua,  and  with  Marc- 
Antonio's  works  they  are  worthy  to  share  the  exalted 
position  held  by  Giulio  Romano's  paintings  after 
Raphael.  In  a  word,  they  restore  the  style  of  that 
school,  which,  after  being  formed  under  Giulio  Ro- 
mano, was  destined  to  rise  to  new  eminence  at  Rome, 
where,  at  last,  its  members  could  admire  the  noble 
masterpieces  of  that  great  master,  whose  unrivalled 


76  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

style  they  had  hitherto  only  seen  as  interpreted  by 
his  pupil. 

After  Giorgio  Ghisi's  death  the  influence  of  Marc- 
Antonio  declined  rapidly.  Like  the  school  of  the 
great  masters,  Eaphael  and  Michael  Angelo,  which 
disappeared  completely  in  Italy  at  the  end  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  after  having  attracted  to  their  lessons 
not  only  nearly  all  the  engravers  of  Italy,  but  even 
Frenchmen  like  Beatrizet,  Germans  like  George  Pe- 
nez,  Earth,  Beham  and  Jacob  Binck,  his  school  also 
rapidly  lost  its  authority.  A  new  school  sprang  up 
at  Rome,  and  the  art  was  preserved  for  some  time, 
but  it  abandoned  the  old  principles,  and  in  allowing 
themselves  greater  freedom  of  execution  the  succes- 
sors of  Marc-Antonio  lost  the  noble  and  beautiful 
style  so  universal  in  Italian  productions  which  had 
flourished  until  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Mannerism  replaced  feeling,  ease  of  style  took  the 
place  of  careful  thought  and  true  expression.  The 
influence  of  Agostino  Carracci  now  appears  to  have 
predominated,  at  least  his  manner  was  copied  by  a 
great  many  artists,  who  came  to  Rome  in  the  seven- 
teenth century  to  the  school  of  art  which  then  attract- 
ed as  many  foreigners  as  native  Italians.  Battista 
Franco  gave  proof,  at  long  intervals,  of  respect  and 
admiration  for  great  traditions,  and  his  work  was 
principally  devoted  to  antique  objects,  but  though  his 
very  careless  drawing  does  not  recall  the  style  of 
Marc-Antonio,  yet  he  was  the  only  artist  who  still 
seems  to  have  remembered  that  master.  As  for  those 


EJVGKAVING   IN   ITALY.  77 

wlio  followed  Franco — Giov.  Batt.  Coriolano  and 
Valerian  Regnart,  the  first  engraved  a  number  of 
vignettes  coldly  and  incorrectly,  the  pompous  sub- 
jects of  which  were  suggested  by  the  masters  of  his 
school ;  and  the  second  gave  his  time  to  the  repro- 
duction of  architectural  drawings,  armorial  bearings, 
and  allegorical  compositions  ;  for  Allegory  was  now 
forcing  its  way  everywhere,  and  was  often  incompre- 
hensible by  reason  of  its  being  so  far-fetched  ;  never- 
theless, Oliviere  Gatti,  Francesco  Brizio,  Raffaelo 
Guidi,  and  many  other  Italians,  habitually  took  their 
inspiration  from  it. 

Cardinal  Barberini,  who  became  pope  under  the 
title  of  Urban  VIII.,  patronized  engraving,  and  sug- 
gested a  great  number  of  these  futile  inventions  ;  the 
bees  of  the  Papal  armorial  bearings  fluttered  in 
swarms  about  these  prints,  which  were  both  harsh 
and  wanting  in  individuality.  Cornelius  Cort,  Franz 
Villamene,  Jo.  Fred.  Greuter,  and  Theodore  Cruger, 
arrived  from  Germany  ;  Philip  Thomassin,  with  a 
few  competitors,  hastened  from  France ;  and  all, — 
German  and  French  alike, — yielding  to  the  general 
fascination,  eagerly  strove  to  adopt  the  style  of  the 
most  fashionable  Roman  artists.  It  is  too  certain 
that  all  the  plates  executed  in  Italy  in  the  seventeenth 
century  wTere  so  much  alike  that  they  might  have 
been  attributed  to  the  same  artists,  had  not  their  au- 
thors been  careful  to  sign  them.  These  engravers 
took  their  inspiration  from  late  painters  of  Michael 
Angelo's  school,  and  it  is  well  known  that  this  once 


78  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

admirable  school,  whose  chief  had  executed  such 
beautiful  works,  had  already  suffered  from  exaggera- 
tion of  style  under  Baccio  Bandinelli.  In  the  works 
of  the  second  generation  of  the  disciples  of  the  paint- 
er of  the  Sistine  Chapel  the  style  became  altogether 
false,  coarse,  and  bombastic. 

Amongst  the  artists  of  the  Roman  school  who  re- 
main to  be  named  we  must  not  forget  Pietro  Santo 
Bartoli,  who  with  his  skilful  needle,  seconded  by  his 
burin,  reproduced  a  great  number  of  bas-reliefs  and 
antique  statues.  Winckelmann  advised  young  people 
anxious  to  form  a  good  idea  of  works  of  antiquity,  to 
consult  the  engravings  of  Pietro  Santo  Bartoli,  and 
this  advice  from  the  famous  historian  of  art  surely 
speaks  well  for  the  artist's  works.  But  we  are  more 
exacting  now  than  formerly.  In  our  day  the  means 
of  reproduction  have  attained  such  high  excellence 
that  we  are  not  disposed  to  give  Bartoli  such  unlimit- 
ed admiration.  His  engravings  after  the  Trajan  col- 
umn, for  instance,  whilst  giving  valuable  information 
about  the  costumes  and  arms  of  the  ancients,  fail  to 
give  a  correct  idea  of  the  figures  of  this  monument. 
The  casts  in  the  museum  of  the  Louvre,  which  enable 
us  to  compare  the  copy  with  the  original,  compel  us 
to  be  somewhat  reserved.  But  in  any  case,  Pietro 
Santo  Bartoli  was  one  of  the  first,  if  not  to  copy  ex- 
actly the  true  character  of  ancient  monuments,  at 
least  to  devote  his  talent  to  them  almost  exclusively, 
and  it  was  by  aid  of  his  engravings  almost  as  much 
as  by  the  works  themselves,  that  Grecian  and  Roman 


ENGRAVING    IN   ITALY.  79 

art  were  made  known  to  most  of  the  artists  born  at 
the  beginning  of  tin's  century. 

At  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  en- 
graving seemed  almost  extinct  in  the  rest  of  Italy,  it 
still  survived  in  Rome.  Two  artists  of  about  equal 
talent,  Domenico  Cunego  and  Antonio  Capellani,  ap- 
plied themselves  to  reproducing  several  works  by 
Michael  Angelo,  which  could  only  be  known  at 
Rome.  Domenico  was  born  at  Verona  in  1727,  and 
at  first  devoted  himself  to  painting  ;  he  worked  with 
Francesco  Ferrari ;  then,  after  studying  the  first  prin- 
ciples of  engraving  in  Germany  he  established  him- 
self in  Rome,  and  it  was  there  that  he  became  so 
enamored  of  Michael  Angelo,  that  he  set  himself  to 
engrave  the  paintings  in  the  Sistine  Chapel ;  Antonio 
Capellani  joined  him  in  this  enterprise.  Born,  at 
Venice  about  1740,  he  had  left  his  home  to  settle  at 
Rome,  and  he  engraved  "  The  Creation  of  Woman," 
and  "  Adam  and  Eve  driven  from  the  Garden  of 
Eden."  Neither  of  these  artists  drew  with  sufficient 
accuracy  to  copy  these  almost  sublime  works.  They 
fell  far  short  of  their  models,  their  engravings  are 
heavy  and  wanting  in  ease,  and  give  but  a  very  in- 
adequate idea  of  the  originals,  and  the  principal  merit 
of  these  artists  is  that  they  rendered  works  which  no 
one  had  hitherto  attempted  to  copy. 

Here  must  close  the  history  of  engraving  in  Italy. 
To  pursue  our  inquiry  further  would  be  to  exceed  the 
limits  of  our  plan.  We  could  doubtless  further  notice 


80  WONDERS    OF   ENGRAVING. 

the  ultra-picturesque  works  of  the  brothers  Piranesi, 
and  refer  to  artists  nearer  our  own  time,  who  fur  a 
moment  appeared  likely  to  revive  the  art  of  engrav- 
ing in  Italy.  Raphael  Morghen,  Paolo  Toschi,  and 
Giuseppe  Longhi,  enjoyed  a  considerable  reputation 
at  the  beginning  of  this  century,  which  was  justified 
to  a  certain  extent  by  their  skill  in  handling  the 
graver.  But  these  artists,  working  almost  entirely  at 
pictures  produced  two  centuries  before,  could  not 
identify  themselves  with  their  models,  and  therefore 
remained  inferior  to  them.  In  occupying  ourselves 
only  with  the  masters  of  art,  and  mentioning  the 
names  of  those  artists  who  at  different  times  drew 
upon  themselves  the  attention  of  men  of  taste,  and 
were  remarkable  for  great  originality,  we  have  per- 
haps given  a  better  notion  of  the  grandeur  of  Italian 
art  than  we  should  have  done  had  we  spoken  of  every 
one  and  meted  out  to  each  a  portion  of  praise  or 
blame. 


Fig.  G.—A  Poet.    Scgravccl  bj  GIUSEPPE  r.irzr.^. 


CHAPTER    III. 

ENGRAVING      IN      SPAIN. 
Giuseppe  Kibera  and  Francesco  Goya. 

IT  is  almost  impossible  to  write  the  history  of  en- 
graving in  Spain.  Scarcely  any  thing  is  known  of 
the  art  of  this  country  beyond  its  own  shores,  and 
native  historians,  or  those  who  resided  long  enough  in 
Spain  to  make  the  national  art  the  object  of  their 
studies,  agree  in  stating  that  engraving  was  very  lit- 
tle practised  and  still  less  encouraged.  We  know 
that  some  anonymous  prints  are  attributed  to  Velas- 
quez and  Murillo  ;  they  do  recall  the  style  of  these 
masters,  and  are  evidently  reproductions  of  their  pic- 
tures, but  we  cannot  name  their  authors  with  any 
certainty.  Without  conclusive  proofs  all  conjectures 
are  valueless.  Kibera  is  the  only  celebrated  painter 
born  in  Spain  whom  we  know  to  have  been  also  a 
line-engraver.  His  style  is  easy,  and  the  coloring  of 
his  engravings,  like  that  of  his  paintings,  is  somewhat 
harsh  ;  his  prints  deserve  the  esteem  in  which  they 
are  generally  held  ;  "  Poetry  "  and  "  The  Martyrdom 
of  St.  Bartholomew,"  Ribera's  best  works,  would  be 
an  honor  to  any  school. 


84:  WONDERS    OF   ENGEAVING. 

But  after  that  of  Bibera  we  find  no  famous  name 
until  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  ;  the 
plates  by  Salvador  Carmona,  Manuel  Esquivel,  Fran- 
cesco Muntaner  and  other  artists  equally  inferior  in 
talent  are  not  enough  to  represent  a  school.  These 
engravers,  who  confined  themselves  to  the  burin,  gen- 
erally copied  valueless  works,  which  they  reproduced 
barrenly  and  without  beauty,  and  if  they  did  turn  to 
a  master,  like  Yelasquez,  they  failed  to  render  the 
grandeur  and  harmonious  coloring  of  that  great  mas- 
ter's works.  To  find  a  man  of  real  originality  and 
skill,  therefore,  we  must  pass  on  to  Francesco  Goya, 
the  only  engraver  of  whom  Spain  may  be  justly 
proud.  He  was  born  at  Fuendetolos,  in  Aragon,  on 
the  30th  of  March,  1746,  and  died  at  Bordeaux  on 
the  16th  of  April,  1828.  He  was  in  turn  a  painter, 
an  engraver,  and  a  lithographer.  His  latest  historian, 
M.  Charles  Yriarte,  has  reviewed  his  frescoes,  his  genre 
paintings,  portraits,  and  engravings,  in  a  large  volume. 
They  are  very  numerous,  but  judging  from  those  we 
have  seen  and  the  copies  in  Yriarte's  book,  we  think 
Goya's  reputation  is  enhanced  when  he  is  studied 
through  his  engravings,  for  then  his  skill  cannot  be 
denied,  whereas  we  are  of  opinion  that  the  merits  of 
many  of  his  portraits  and  paintings,  especially  those 
of  sacred  subjects,  have  been  much  exaggerated.* 
They  are  remarkable  for  a  certain  sombre  harmony 

*  The  greater  number  of  engravings  published  by  Goya  were  after 
his  own  drawings,  but  some  few  reproduce  portraits  by  Velasquez.  The 
latter,  entirely  etched,  give  a  very  good  idea  of  the  original  paintings. 


Fi<j.  7.— The  Condemned     An  etching  by  FBANCISCO  G^A. 


ENGRAVING   IN    SPAIN.  87 

of  tint,  but  tlie  drawing  of  his  figures  is  careless,  and 
the  artist  does  not  value  beauty  highly  enough,  he 
seems  voluntarily  to  set  it  aside,  and  to  delight  in 
horrible  scenes.  His  engravings  show  the  same  ten- 
dencies, but  they  call  up  our  admiration  by  the  skill 
of  the  execution  ;  and  the  truthfulness  of  the  action 
depicted  in  some  measure  rewards  one  for  what  is  re- 
pulsive and  gloomy  in  the  subjects  chosen.  Goya  is 
the  painter  of  passion  and  of  life,  he  is  a  sceptic,  a 
mocker  never  satisfied.  He  has  constituted  himself 
the  apostle  of  liberty  for  his  oppressed  country,  and 
he  is  entirely  engrossed  with  this  one  idea.  The  aw- 
ful massacres  at  which  he  invites  us  to  look,  are  the 
work  of  despotism,  and,  as  interpreted  by  his  imagi- 
nation, they  appear  more  horrible  than  they  were  in 
reality.  Fancy  plays  a  large  part  in  Goya's  engrav- 
ings, and  the  magic  charm  of  chiaroscuro  is  called  in 
to  conceal  incorrectness  of  drawing  and  palpable 
errors  of  taste.  This  engraver's  special  task,  the  skil- 
ful combination  of  aquatint  and  etching,  is  also  full 
of  interest.  Goya  was  preeminently  successful  in 
this  method  of  engraving  which  no  artist  before  his 
time  had  emplo}7ed,  and  he  is  the  only  artist  of  genius 
of  a  distinctively  Spanish  character.  He  will  be  re- 
membered also  because  he  introduced  a  process  of  en- 
graving which  Rembrandt  himself,  the  master  of 
chiaroscuro,  the  prince  of  etchers,  had  foreseen  but 
not  employed. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

ENGRAVING   IN   THE   LOW   COUNTRIES. 

Engravers  on  Wood  in  the  15th  Century.  Early  Engravers  on  Metal — 
Holland :  Rembrandt,  Ruysdael,  and  Paul  Potter — Belgium :  Ru- 
bens, Bolswert,  Paul  Pontius  and  Anthony  Vandyck. 

IT  is  difficult  to  abstain  from  studying  the  art  of 
Flanders  and  that  of  Holland  together.  From  the 
first  these  two  countries  had  interests  in  common  :  art 
assumed  the  same  character  for  a  time,  and  did  not 
attain  to  separate  and  distinct  importance  until  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  Rembrandt 
on  one  side,  and  Rubens  on  the  other,  founded  and 
directed  a  school,  each  in  his  respective  country. 

The  question  as  to  whether  the  first  wood  engrav- 
ings were  printed  in  Germany  or  the  Low  Countries 
has  always  been  the  subject  of  earnest  debate.  Strange 
to  say,  the  history  of  the  origin  of  engraving,  which 
is  intimately  connected  with  that  of  printing,  becomes 
more  and  more  obscure  in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  fresh  documents  discovered.  Those  who  bring  out 
these  documents,  with  a  date  throwing  back  the  in- 


THE   LOW   COUNTRIES.  89 

vention  for  a  few  years,  are  generally  too  much  blind- 
ed by  vanity  to  be  much  enlightened  by  them.  The 
greater  number  of  the  historians  of  engraving,  who 
are  Germans  at  heart  and  by  birth,  are  unwilling  to 
relinquish  for  their  country  the  honor  of  the  invention 
of  engraving,  but  the  Dutch  energetically  maintain  a 
right  of  priority,  which  we  consider  worthy  of  belief. 
Let  us  not  forget  to  add,  that  the  Italians,  not  with- 
out pride,  bring  documents  to  support  similar  preten- 
sions ;  and  that  the  French  have  attempted,  but  it 
must  be  owned  without  any  success,  to  take  a  place 
among  the  first  inventors  of  this  art. 

Engraving  on  Wood. — We  think  that  it  was  in 
the  Low  Countries,  at  Haarlem,  that  the  "  Speculum, 
Humanae  Salvationis "  first  appeared.  It  is  a  reli- 
gions work  ornamented  with  woodcuts,  which  show 
some  knowledge  of  art,  and  testify  much  more  to  a 
desire  for  good  composition  than  the  single  pictures 
previously  published.  Four  editions  of  this  work,  all 
without  date,  the  name  of  the  printer,  or  of  the  town 
in  which  they  were  published,  succeeded  each  other. 
Two,  however,  are  in  Dutch,  and  two  in  Latin,  and 
certain  scholars,  good  judges  in  such  matters,  think 
the  Dutch  dialect  the  same  as  that  spoken  in  the  Low 
Countries  about  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  century  or 
the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth,  thereby  justifying  onr 
opinion  of  the  origin  of  these  books.  We  look  in 
vain  in  Germany  or  elsewhere  for  any  former  work  at 
all  equal  to  the  "  Speculum  Humanse  Salvationis,"  or 
the  "  Biblia  Pauperum."  In  them  the  influence  of 


90  ENGRAVING    IN 

the  Van  Eycks  is  manifest,  the  style  resembles  theirs 
in  every  particular.  The  authority  of  the  Van  Eycks 
was  greater  than  that  of  any  painter  until  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fifteenth  century.  This  fact  must  be 
borne  in  mind,  for  a  school  does  not  really  exist  until 
it  produces  a  work  worthy  of  admiration  or  interest ; 
in  art,  as  in  every  thing  else,  an  invention  is  not  truly 
useful  or  praiseworthy  until  its  results  are  tangible. 

Although  compelled  to  deny  to  the  Germans  a 
glory,  in  the  defence  of  which  they  have  employed  so 
much  patient  study,  real  knowledge,  and  long  re- 
search, we  cannot  but  acknowledge,  that  the  advan- 
tage enjoyed  by  the  Low  Countries  is  more  than 
counterbalanced  by  the  important  part  taken  by  Ger- 
many in  the  development  of  engraving,  and  we  must 
carefully  study  the  art  at  the  head  of  which  stand 
two  such  great  German  masters  as  Albert  Diirer  and 
Martin  Schongauer. 

To  the  Low  Countries,  then,  in  addition  to  the 
honor  of  the  discovery  of  printing  (subsequently 
turned  to  such  good  account  by  Gutenberg),  belongs 
also  the  equal  distinction  of  having  produced  the  first 
woodcuts  worthy  of  notice.  The  books  quoted  above 
replaced  the  manuscripts  hitherto  in  use.  This  was 
a  great  boon,  for  the  latter,  requiring  much  careful 
labor,  were  very  expensive,  and  of  course  attainable 
only  by  those  in  easy  circumstances,  the  poor  being 
inevitably  compelled  to  remain  in  ignorance.  It  is 
true  that  several  engravings  with  short  legends  at- 
tached to  them  were  published,  but  they  could  not  be 


THE    LOW   COUNTRIES.  91 

considered  efficient  means  of  education.  Printing 
happily  changed  this  great  inequality,  and  we  can 
understand  how  useful  xylography  and  typography 
were  to  each  other  when  combined. 

The  school  of  painting  directed  by  the  Yan  Eycks, 
and  in  which  Hans  Memling  was  a  pupil,  became  so 
famous  that  a  new  impulse  was  given  to  engraving  ; 
many  artists  gladly  availing  themselves  of  it  to  mul- 
tiply the  works  of  these  masters.  Although  not  shar- 
ing all  the  resources  of  painting  this  art  is  more  di- 
rectly profitable  and  does  not  require  such  thorough 
study.*  At  Amsterdam  and  Antwerp  books  were 
published,  which  proved  the  usefulness  of  the  discov- 
ery, containing  engravings  remarkable  for  clearness 
of  execution  and  rare  truthfulness.  There  were,  in- 
deed, no  models  to  be  found  elsewhere  equal  to  those 
that  Flemish  artists  had  at  their  command,  and  when 
not  copying  the  master's  works  literally  they  could 
not  entirely  free  themselves  from  their  influence. 

The  names  of  the  numerous  woodcutters  of  the 
fifteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  centuries 
are  unknown,  and  it  is  therefore  difficult  to  describe t 
their  works  accurately.  All  early  Flemish  engravings 
were  influenced  by  the  style  of  art  in  fashion  at  the 
court  of  the  Dukes  of  Burgundy,  and  the  engraved 
designs  on  box  or  pear-tree  wood  resemble  each  other 
too  much  to  admit  of  classification.  The  figures  are 
stunted,  often  deformed,  the  heads  poor,  the  expres- 

*  The  engravings  on  wood  which  appeared  in  the  Low  Countries 
about  the  15th  century  are  very  numerous. 


92  ENGKAVING   IN 

sions  exaggerated  ;  but  the  movements  are  generally 
justly  rendered,  and  the  actual  cutting  is  skilful. 
Those  bearing  the  monogiam  I. A.  separated  by  a 
double  A.  crossed  by  a  V.,  and  attributed  to  Jacob 
Cornelisz  or  John  Walter  Van  Assen,  are  picturesque 
and  cut  with  manual  dexterity. 

Engraving  on  Metal. — Early  engravers  on  metal 
in  the  Low  Countries  resembled  their  predecessors, 
the  wood  engravers,  in  their  style,  if  one  may  apply 
such  a  term  to  these  primitive  efforts.  They  were  in- 
spired by  the  same  influence,  guided  by  the  same 
mind.  An  anonymous  artitt,  called,  for  want  of  bet- 
ter information,  "  The  Engraver  of  1480,"  left  a  great 
number  of  prints.  "We  have  examined  them  in  the 
museum  at  Amsterdam.  The  drawing  of  all  exhibits 
the  same  indecision,  but  they  are  well  engraved. 
They  are  of  sacred  subjects  or  gay  scenes,  and  are  fair 
specimens  of  the  art  of  the  period.  Designs  which 
were  thoroughly  worked  out  by  miniature  and  other 
painters  lost  much  of  their  perfection  under  the  hands 
of  line  engravers,  the  movements  of  the  figures  be- 
came distorted,  and  sometimes  almost  grotesque.  The 
Yan  Eycks  and  Hans  Memling  exercised  but  little  in- 
fluence over  "•  The  Engraver  of  1480  ;  "  he  failed,  for 
instance,  to  give  to  the  face  of  the  Virgin  the  purity 
and  simplicity  in  which  the  masters  of  the  school  of 
Bruges  so  much  delighted.  He  preferred  to  take  his 
inspiration  from  the  early  painters  of  Cologne,  and  his 
style  in  consequence  partly  resembles  that  of  the 
school  on  the  borders  of  the  Rhine,  but  he  was  thor- 


THE   LOW   COUNTRIES.  93 

oughly  Dutch  in  his  mode  of  working  on  copper. 
This  was  his  chief  merit,  his  line  engravings  are  fine 
and  of  delicate  workmanship,  and  he  may  have  been 
a  goldsmith  before  he  became  an  engraver  of  prints. 

Another  anonymous  artist,  known  as  the  "  Master 
of  the  Shuttle,"  or  Zwoll,  worked,  according  to  his- 
torians, about  the  same  time  as  the  "  Master  of  1480," 
but  his  art  is  more  advanced,  and  his  style  more  de- 
cided. The  harshness  of  some  of  his  plates  recalls 
the  early  school,  but  others  seem  to  have  been  pro- 
duced as  late  as  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
In  "  Christ  on  the  Cross,"  for  instance,  a  very  large 
engraving  tor  the  age  in  which  it  appeared,  the  Yir- 
gin  lying  insensible  at  the  foot  of  the  cross  is  not  un- 
like the  same  figure  in  a  painting  by  Quentin  Matsys, 
exhibited  in  the  museum  of  Antwerp.  We  do  not 
mean  to  say  that  the  engraver  copied  the  works  of 
the  great  Antwerp  painter  born  about  1460,  but  we 
do  think  that  he  was  one  of  his  imitators,  or  was  at 
least  aided  by  his  genius.  He  used  the  graver  skil- 
fully, but  he  was  ignorant  of  the  progress  made  in 
other  countries.  .The  "  Master  of  the  Shuttle  "  prob- 
ably never  left  the  Low  Countries,  or  heard  of  the  en- 
gravings of  Italy  and  Germany  ;  his  style  is  entirely 
free  from  foreign  influence,  and  he  copied  none  but 
compositions  of  sacred  subjects  in  the  style  of  the 
school  patronized  by  the  Dukes  of  Burgundy.  He 
certainly  would  have  yielded  to  the  influence  of  Mar- 
tin Schongauer,  who  lived  before  him,  had  he  studied 
his  works. 


94r  ENGRAVING    IN 

Soon  after  the  artists  we  have  named,  a  master 
arose  who  revived  all  the  peculiarities  of  the  early 
school,  and  occupies  a  large  space  in  the  history  of 
art.  We  allude  to  Lucas  of  Leyden,  Lorn  in  1493. 
He  learnt  engraving  with  an  armorer  and  goldsmith, 
and  gave  early  proof  of  talent.  In  1508,  that  is,  at 
fifteen  years  of  age,  he  produced  his  first  engraving, 
which,  with  his  succeeding  work,  presaged  a  glorious 
future,  although  his  style  as  yet  was  timid.  Lucas 
of  Leyden  paid  more  attention  to  perspective  than  any 
former  engraver.  This  carefulness  of  relative  propor- 
tions added  greatly  to  the  apparent  size  of  the  space 
in  which  the  scenes  were  depicted.  Lucas  of  Leyden 
knew  Albert  Diirer,  and  when  that  great  artist  visited 
Antwerp  in  1520,  exchanged  some  engravings  with 
him,  but  he  did  not  borrow  so  much  from  the  illustri- 
ous German  as  other  contemporary  artists.  He  re- 
tained his  peculiar  style  of  interpreting  nature,  and 
his  mode  of  engraving  remained  unchanged.  Experi- 
ence gave  him  greater  mastery  over  his  tools,  but  his 
manner  is  the  same  in  his  earliest  and  latest  works. 
He  took  his  models  from  those  around  him,  and  did 
not  hesitate  to  dress  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  Esther,  or 
Dalilah  in  the  costumes  of  the  richer  classes  of  Hol- 
land. His  innate  sense  of  beauty  enabled  him  to 
realize  a  glorious  ideal  far  nearer  true  beauiy  than  that 
attained  by  any  other  master  of  his  time.  His  "  Ecce 
Homo  "  may  be  considered  one  of  his  chief  composi- 
tions from  an  artistic  point  of  view  ;  but  it  is  also  full 
of  another  kind  of  interest.  The  scene  is  laid  in  the 


THE    LOW    COUNTRIES.  95 

public  square  of  a  Flemish  town  surrounded  by  ga- 
bled houses,  and  here,  as  usual,  indifferent  to  histori- 
cal truth,  the  engraver  has  given  the  executioners  and 
spectators  the  costumes  of  his  own  age.  We  are, 
therefore,  indebted  to  him  for  a  very  important  record 
of  the  manners  and  costumes  of  the  people  of  the 
Netherlands  in  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Lucas  of  Leyden  did  not  despise  homely  scenes,  al- 
though he  preferred  sacred  and  exalted  subjects.  He 
produced  works  in  which  peasants  and  beggars  are 
the  chief  actors.  One  of  them,  "  The  Peasants  Trav- 
elling," known  as  "  The  Uylenspiegel,"  is  the  choicest 
and  most  sought  after  of  all  his  works.  This  engrav- 
ing, by  an  artist  devoted  to  elegance  and  refinement, 
led  to  the  production  of  an  enormous  number  of  prints 
of  beggars  and  peasants  by  Teniers,  the  Ostades,  Du- 
sart,  and  their  followers. 

The  contemporary  engravers  of  Lucas  of  Leyden, 
who  worked  with  him,  shared  neither  his  genius  nor 
his  style,  they  shook  off  his  influence,  and  their  works 
are  poor.  Dirck  van  Staren,  surnamed  the  "  Master 
of  the  Star,"  was  an  exception.  He  has  proved  him- 
self a  clever  engraver  and  designer  in  some  engravings 
signed  with  the  letters  D.  V.,  separated  by  a  star,  viz., 
"  St.  Luke  painting  the  Virgin,"  "  The  Deluge,"  and 
"  A  Saint  kneeling  before  the  Virgin,  holding  the  In- 
fant Jesus  in  her  arms."  The  figures  are  elegant 
and  refined,  and  rare  skill  in  ornamentation  js  seen 
in  the  decoration  of  St.  Luke's  studio.  The  style  re- 
sembles that  of  Lucas  of  Leyden,  and  these  engrav- 


96 


ENGRAVING   IN 


ings  by  the  "  Master  of  the  Star "  are  worthy  of  all 
esteem. 

The  "  Master  of  the  Crab  "  worked  about  the  same 


Fig.  8.— The  Uylensplegel.    Engravud  by  LUCAS  OP  LEYDEN. 

time  as  the  "  Master  of  the  Star ; "  he  was  of  an  in. 
dependent  spirit,  and  troubled  himself  little  about  the 


THE    LOW   COUNTRIES.  97 

style  of  his  predecessors.  The  Madonnas  he  engraved 
are  ugly  and  pretentious,  exaggerated  and  badly 
drawn  ;  his  original  figures  are  stunted  and  awkward, 
he  drew  coarsely,  and  his  work  with  the  graver  was 
unskilful.  Indeed,  we  think  his  works  are  famous  for 
their  rarity  rather  than  for  their  merit,  which  has 
been  much  exaggerated.  Albert  Claas  published  and 
signed  a  number  of  engravings  about  the  same  time 
as  the  '"  Master  of  the  Crab."  He  had  not  much 
original  power.  At  first  he  was  content  to  be  a  mere 
copyist.  He  imitated  engravings  by  Lucas  of  Leyden, 
Beham,  Aldegrever,  and  Albert  Diirer,  and  he  might 
be  included  amongst  the  pelits  maitres  (the  Little 
Masters),  but  his  style  of  engraving  had  not  that  firm- 
ness of  hand  which  is  seen  in  the  work  of  the  artists 
included  under  this  title.  His  figures  are  not  suffi- 
ciently careful ;  he  used  a  sharp  graver,  and  his  strokes 
are  very  far  apart.  He  did  not  confine  himself  to 
copies  alone,  but  the  drawings  in  which  the  composi- 
tion and  engraving  are  both  attributed  to  him  are  not 
original  enough  to  render  them  worthy  of  esteem  ; 
they  betoken  facility  of  execution,  but  the  design  is 
poor,  and  the  expression  worthless. 

Cornelius  Matzys,  another  Dutch  artist,  also  partly 
belongs  to  the  school  of  the  petits  maitres.  The 
engravings  signed  with  his  monogram,  produced 
between  1537  and  1552,  are  mostly  small.  They  are 
also  his  best ;  he  is  at  home  and  interesting  when  he 
represents  peasant  men  and  women  talking  in  twos 
and  threes,  running  together,  or  telling  one  another 


98  ENGRAVING   IN 

their  troubles.  Unfortunately  he  went  to  Italy,  al- 
tered his  style,  and  unsuccessfully  tried  to  improve 
himself  by  studying  Italian  masterpieces.  "  The 
Miraculous"  Draught  of  Fishes,"  a  large  engraving  for 
him,  fell  short  of  his  former  works  ;  he  could  not  re- 
produce Raphael,  his  rendering  of  the  celebrated  car- 
toon is  poor  and  incorrect.  It  was  the  same  with  all 
Malzys'  engravings  produced  under  Italian  influence. 
This  was  not  surprising,  for  the  new  principles,  the 
new  traditions,  were  totally  opposed  to  those  of  his 
own  land.  A  Dutchman  might  give  a  certain  Italian 
appearance  to  his  works,  it  is  true,  but  they  could 
scarcely  fail  to  lose  in  the  process.  Unfortunately  the 
mania  for  Italy  and  the  Italian  style  was  universal  in 
the  Low  Countries  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  artists 
did  not  discover  their  mistake  until  the  seventeenth 
century,  when  Rembrandt  and  Rubens  introduced  a 
new  order  of  things.  From  the  time  of  Lucas  of 
Leyden  until  then  no  work  worthy  of  remark  was 
produced  by  the  artists  of  Holland  or  of  Flanders. 
Lambert-Lombard,  Adrien  Collaert,  Martin  Ilemrs- 
kerke,  Dirck  Volkert  Curenbert,  and  a  number  of 
others  spent  the  greater  part  of  their  lives  at  Rome, 
and  exhausted  their  powers  in  striving  after  an  ideal 
beyond  their  reach.  The  immense  number  of  their 
works  only  injured  their  art.  Working  for  trade, 
engravers  inundated  the  market  with  sacred  subjects, 
and  devoting  themselves  to  allegory,  the  passion  of 
-Italy  in  her  decline,  they  forgot  to  care  for  beauty 
and  truth  in  their  haste  to  produce  fresh  impressions. 


THE    LOW    COUNTRIES.  99 

It  is  a  relief  to  turn  to  works  which  are  the  glory 
of  the  school  of  the  Netherlands,  and  prove  how 
powerful  it  really  was. 

Hitherto  we  have  considered  Dutch  and  Flemish 
art  together  ;  we  can  no  longer  do  so,  for  their  inter 
ests  and  tendencies  cease  to  be  identical.  Hollanc 
takes  an  independent  position  ;  a  great  master  is  born 
to  her,  who  abruptly  changes  the  customs  of  her 
school,  and  assumes  the  lead  in  art.  His  name  is 
Rembrandt  Van  Rhyn. 

Rembrandt  was  born  in  1607.*  His  birthplace  is 
unknown,  but  every  thing  seems  to  prove  that  he  first 
saw  the  light  in  Leyden,  where  his  family  had  been 
established  for  a  long  time.  His  father  at  first  in- 
tended him  to  study  law,  and  began  by  making  him 
learn  Latin,  that  he  might  be  prepared  to  go  through 
the  course  required  at  the  University  of  Leyden.  But 
Rembrandt  had  so  great  a  taste  for  drawing  and  paint- 
ing, that  his  parents  yielded  to  his  wishes,  and  placed 
.him  with  Jacob  Isaacson  van  Swanenburg,  an  artist 

*  The  date  of  Rembrandt's  birth  has  been  much  discussed.  The 
registers  of  the  municipality  of  Leyden,  which  alone  could  have  decided 
the  question,  are  lost  for  the  period  under  discussion.  We  are,  there- 
fore, left  to  conjectures  which  rest  on  the  authority  of  Orlers,  the 
Burgomaster  of  Leyden,  and  upon  some  dated  engravings  and  the 
artist's  marriage  certificate,  in  which  he  declares  himself  to  be  26  years 
old  on  the  10th  of  June,  1634.  We  here  adopt  the  opinion  of  M.  C. 
Vosmaer  (Rembrandt  Harmeng  ran  Jtijn,  ses  preevrxeurs  et  set  anneet 
(Tapprentisitage,  printed  at  Hague,  1863,  pp.  iv.-vi.),  who,  after  examin- 
ing all  the  accounts  by  historians  of  this  master,  concludes,  although 
with  hesitation,  that  Rembrandt  was  born  in  1607. 


100  ENGRAVING    IN 

almost  unknown  in  our  time.  Rembrandt  studied 
with  this  painter  for  three  years  ;  he  then  attended 
successively  the  studios  of  Peter  Lastman  and  Jacob 
Pinas.  Having  learnt  the  elements  of  his  sirt  from 
them,  he  returned  to  his  father's  house  at  Leyden  to 
work  alone.  He  soon  gained  an  extensive  reputation, 
his  first  engravings  and  paintings  were  so  good  that 
lie  received  several  orders  for  portraits  from  Amster- 
dam. On  the  22d  of  June,  1634,  Rembrandt  married 
a  wealthy  native  of  Friesland,  Saskia  Uilenburg.  By 
this  marriage  he  had  two  children,  one  of  whom  died 
very  young,  and  the  other,  Titus  Rembrandt,  followed 
his  father's  profession,  but  without  success.  After 
eight  years  of  married  life  Saskia  also  died,  leaving 
her  entire  fortune  under  her  husband's  control,  on 
condition  that  he  should  give  her  son  a  thorough  edu- 
cation and  allot  him  a  portion  on  his  marriage. 

Rembrandt  did  not  long  remain  a  widowrer  ;  there 
is  no  authentic  record  of  his  second  marriage,  but  the 
registers  of  Amsterdam  prove  the  birth  of  two  chil- 
dren some  time  after  Saskia's  death.  Rembrandt's 
life,  devoted  to  study,  furnishes  small  material  for 
biography.  He  seldom  left  Amsterdam,  never  went 
abroad,  and  found  plenty  of  models  of  every  kind 
ready  to  his  hand.  Rembrandt's  works,  now  so  sought 
after  and  prized  by  amateurs,  and  which  are  disputed 
for  by  museums  and  public  buildings,  were  not 
thought  much  of  during  his  life.  In  1656,  after  the 
production  of  his  best  works,  Rembrandt  was  de- 
clared insolvent,  and  compelled  to  sell  his  house,  his 


THE   LOW    COUNTRIES.  101 

furniture,  his  very  studio !  This  unfortunate  occur- 
rence was  a  terrible  blow  to  the  artist.  Although  he 
worked  hard  and  produced  many  masterpieces, 
amongst  others,  "  The  Trustees  of  the  Draper's  Guild," 
in  the  Museum,  of  Amsterdam  (1661),  he  sank  more 
and  more  into  obscurity.  The  date  of  his  death  re- 
mained long  unknown  or  was  incorrectly  reported, 
and  it  was  not  discovered  until  lately  in  a  document 
taken  from  the  civil  registers  of  Amsterdam  :  "  Rem- 
brandt was  buried  in  this  town  on  the  8th  of  October, 
1669." 

Rembrandt  founded  the  Dutch  school  properly  so 
called,  and  we  may  add  that  he  completely  represents 
it.  He  created  every  variety  of  subject,  and  in  every 
style  proved  himself  to  be  an  inimitable  artist.  In 
compositions  of  the  highest  order,  such  as  "  Jesus 
Christ  healing  the  Sick,"  or  "  The  Resurrection  of 
Lazarus,"  his  magic  needle  obtained  results  from 
etching  of  which  it  was  not  deemed  capable.  This 
branch  of  engraving  would  appear  to  be  suited  only 
to  homely  subjects,  or  compositions  to  be  dashed  off 
at  one  sitting,  but  Rembrandt's  genius  raised  it  to  the 
height  of  glory,  and  enabled  it  to  compete  success- 
fully with  the  engraving  of  history.  And  when  the 
master  turns  to  domestic  scenes,  when  he  leads  us  to 
the  synagogue,  or  shows  us  the  sculptor  modelling  a 
statuette,  or  the  cook  surrounded  by  her  children  toss- 
ing her  cakes  in  the  frying-pan,  he  gives  to  these 
familiar  subjects  a  spirit,  a  power,  a  touch  of  nature, 
which  are  irresistibly  interesting  and  attractive.  He 


102  ENGRAVING   IN 

surpasses  every  one  in  his  noble  and  life-like  portraits. 
Jan  Lntma,  the  Burgomaster  Six,  or  Rembrandt  him- 
self, will  live  forever  in  the  etchings  which  so  faith- 
fully render  the  wit,  the  energy,  and  the  singularity 
of  their  physiognomies.  Rembrandt  was  also  a  thor- 
ough master  of  landscape  design.  Holland  has  had 
many  great  landscape  painters,  but  none  represented 
this  artificial  country  with  so  much  truth  as  Rem- 
brandt, The  boundless  horizons  of  this  flat  country, 
the  wondrous  canals,  the  windmills,  are  all  given 
without  monotony  or  exaggeration  ;  and  so  admirably 
has  Rembrandt  chosen  his  point  of  view  and  arranged 
his  subjects,  that,  whilst  strictly  adhering  to  truth,  he 
has  given  an  interesting  and  picturesque  appearance 
to  this  damp  and  melancholy  land.  Rembrandt  had 
some  imitators,  but  no  pupils  who  followed  his  exam- 
ple step  by  step.  Too  original  himself  to  tolerate  ser- 
vile copying,  or  to  do  more  than  encourage,  his  un- 
thinking genius  could  only  arouse  the  ambition  of 
some  few  engravers  to  follow  up  the  work  he  had  be- 
gun. Thus  J.  Livens,  Ferdinand  Bol,  and  Yan  Uliet, 
in  attempting  to  conform  themselves  strictly  to  the 
examples  of  this  master's  style,  remained  far  behind 
their  models,  and  in  the  end  obtained  but  a  moderate 
reputation.  The  inferiority  of  these  artists  is  seen 
when,  applying  themselves  directly  to  the  works  of 
Rembrandt,  they  sought  to  reproduce  the  distinguish- 
ing beauties  by  the  process  employed  by  that  artist. 
These  three  imitators  repeatedly  engraved  Rem- 
brandt's works,  and  not  without  talent ;  their  engrav- 


THE   LOW    COUNTRIES.  105 

ings  never  show  more  beauty  than  when  they  trod  in 
their  illustrious  master's  footsteps.  As  for  their  own 
compositions,  which  they  produced  on  copper,  they 
betray  an  intention  to  imitate  Rembrandt,  and  at  the 
same  tiine  an  exaggeration  in  the  drawing  which  spoils 
the  figures ;  and  though  Rembrandt  himself,  even 
when  drawing  common  and  low  phases  of  life,  always 
remained  grand  and  gave  a  poetry  to  the  most  insig- 
nificant subjects,  his  imitators,  less  scrupulous  be 
cause  less  clever,  were  not  afraid  of  deviating  from 
truth  in  the  action  of  their  figures  which  are  often 
frightful. 

We  are  indebted  to  this  love  of  humble  subjects, 
such  as  beggars  and  peasants,  for  a  great  number  of 
excellent  Dutch  compositions.  The  artists  who  chose 
this  kind  of  work  were  evidently  painters  as  well  as 
engravers,  and,  unlike  their  predecessors,  they  did  not 
go  abroad,  but  were  content  with  the  plentiful  models 
close  at  hand.  Their  works  are  charming  because 
they  are  true.  As  their  country  did  not  offer  types 
of  grandeur  in  the  inhabitants,  or  varied  aspects  of 
beauty  in  the  scenery,  they  applied  themselves  to  the 
faithful  representation  of  what  really  met  their  eyes. 
The  smoking  rooms  and  taverns  to  which  we  are  in- 
troduced by  Ostade  or  Erauwer  are  full  of  life  and 
animation.  We  see  that  their  engraver  was  at  home 
in  them.  Adrien  Brauwer,  of  Haarlem,  is  said  to 
have  frequented  them  too  much  ;  according  to  some 
historians  he  led  a  life  of  drunkenness  and  debauch- 
ery, lie  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-four,  leaving  some 


100  ENGRAVING   EN 

etchings  of  great  delicacy  and  power.  Adrien  Yan 
Ostade  led  a  less  irregular  life,  and  as  an  engraver  he 
takes  higher  rank.  He  devoted  his  exceptional  talent 
to  the  home  scenes  of  his  native  land  ;  his  numerous 
engravings  are  delightful  on  account  of  the  spirit  and 
life  of  the  figures.  Whether  gay  and  joyous,  or  busy 
over  household  cares,  his  characters  do  well  what  they 
are  employed  in ;  their  faces  are  true,  their  gestures 
life-like ;  they  act,  they  live,  they  are  full  of  individ- 
uality. Ostade  possessed  this  gift  of  vivid  representa- 
tion in  a  great  degree  ;  when  he  shows  us  an  artist  at 
work  in  his  studio  in  a  tall  cap,  we  distinctly  see  how 
the  painter's  attention  is  fixed  on  his  work,  how  care- 
full}'  he  is  covering  his  canvas. 

The  imitators  of  Ostade  fell  far  short  of  their 
model.  Cornelius  Dusart  drew  heavily,  and  his  ideal 
is  even  more  insignificant  and  trivial  than  that  of  his 
contemporaries.  It  is  strange  that  the  Dutch,  so  suc- 
cessful with  physiognomy,  could  not  represent  youth  ; 
their  lovers,  male  and  female,  are  wrinkled  and  fright- 
fully ugly  ;  the  children  playing  round  their  parents 
are  old  and  clumsy,  their  attitudes  are  all  that  is 
young  about  them.  These  second-rate  Dutch  artists 
never  so  much  as  dreamt  of  representing  beauty  and 
elegance  of  form.  Cornelius  Bega,  another  pupil  of 
Ostade,  imitated  his  master  as  closely  as  did  Dusart. 
He,  too,  delighted  to  represent  peasants  at  table  in 
taverns,  gossiping  at  the  door  of  an  inn,  or  busied 
with  household  cares,  but  his  engravings  are  wanting 
in  the  delicacy  which  distinguishes  those  of  Ostade. 


THE    LOW   COUNTRIES.  107 

They  are  harsh,  and  the  faces  of  his  beggars  are  not 
always  correct. 

We  have  said  that  Dutch  artists  of  the  seventeenth 
century  did  not  attempt  to  make  the  human  figure  at 
all  beautiful.  To  atone  for  this,  a  number  of  artists 
equally  skilful  with  brush  and  graver,  applied  them- 
selves with  the  greatest  success  to  the  representation 
of  animals  in  all  their  beauty  and  nobility.  Of  these 
masters  Paul  Potter  is  the  most  distinguished,  and 
the  animals  he  painted  or  engraved  are  grander  than 
any  before  produced.  He  idealized  his  model  without 
compromising  truth.  His  engraving  of  the  "  Fries- 
land  Horse  "  is  bold  in  execution,  and  competes  with 
the  productions  of  these  schools  which  were  famous 
for  their  grandeur. 

Nicolas  Berghem  was  as  successful  with  animals 
as  any  of  his  fellow-countrymen.  His  much-sought- 
for  paintings  and  engravings  are  equally  delicate, 
clear,  and  refined.  His  compositions — in  which  the 
animals  are  better  than  the  figures — are  set  in  land- 
scapes designed  with  great  care.  He  delighted  in 
foliage;  his  delicate  needle  has  thrown  the  light  on 
the  right  places,  the  shadows  are  never  confused,  the 
air  circulates  freely,  giving  life  to  all  it  touches. 

Adrian  Van  der  Velde  painted  both  animate  and 
inanimate  nature,  but  he  engraved  animals  only.  He 
had  great  original  talent,  and  the  power  and  correct- 
ness of  his  work  recalls  the  style  of  Berghem.  Theo- 
dore Stoop  was  less  confined  and  crowded  in  his 
work  ;  he  gave  his  chief  attention  to  horses,  and  the 


108  ENGRAVING   IN 

figures  lie  introduces  are  cleverly  designed  and  ar- 
ranged. Philip  "Wouvermann  has  signed  but  one  en- 
graving. But  in  this  finely  caparisoned  young  horse 
Jie  has  shown  with  what  success  he  could  work  at 
etching.  His  evident  inexperience  has  not  injured 
the  correctness  of  the  forms,  and  in  spite  of  its  soiled 
appearance  this  engraving  is  well  worth  the  attention 
of  amateurs.  Karel  Dujardin  evidently  loved  the  life 
of  the  fields.  He  strictly  followed  Paul  Potter  as 
long  as  he  remained  in  his  native  land.  He  engraved 
numbers  of  animals,  illustrating  their  habits  and  ex- 
plaining their  natures.  Some  sleep  in  sheer  idleness, 
stretched  on  then-  sides  or  wallowing  in  the  mud ; 
others  accustomed  to  work,  ruminate  peacefully,  or 
browse  carelessly  upon  the  grass.  Dujardin's  engrav- 
ing is  clear,  the  outlines  bold  and  distinct ;  he  never 
betrays  weariness.  One  day,  under  pretence  of  seeing 
a  friend  off  who  was  going  to  Leghorn,  Karel  Dujar- 
din set  out  for  Italy.  He  was  so  much  struck  with 
the  skies  and  landscapes  of  the  Roman  Empire,  that 
he  deserted  animals  and  became  a  landscape  painter. 
II is  works  in  Italy  were  large,  but  the  arrangement 
of  them  is  not  always  good,  and  the  execution  is,la- 
bored.  No  wonder  the  successful  Dutch  artist  found 
such  a  complete  change  of  style  very  difficult,  and 
felt  almost  intimidated  before  the  grandeur  of  the 
scenery  round  Rome. 

Other  landscape  painters  followed  Karel  Dujar- 
din's example,  and  went  to  Italy  after  studying  in 
Holland,  but  these  distant  wanderings  were  less  in 


THE   LOW    COUNTRIES.  Ill 

jurious  than  we  should  have  feared,  as  the  emigrants 
did  not  leave  their  country  until  they  knew  enough 
of  their  art  to  be  able  to  profit  by  the  novel  instruc- 
tions they  were  going  to  receive.  John  Both,  the 
most  celebrated  of  them,  gained  the  surname  of 
"  Both  of  Italy."  He  was  born  at  Utrecht  in  1610. 
In  company  with  his  brother,  Andrew  Both,  with 
whom  he  generally  worked,  he  travelled  first  through 
France  and  then  through  Italy,  making  a  long  stay  in 
the  latter.  It  is  strange  that  he  learnt  to  understand 
Italian  art  through  the  works  of  the  well-known 
French  artist  Claude  Gellee.  The  influence  of  the 
Lorraine  master  is  more  evident  in  his  paintings  than 
in  his  etchings  ;  in  his  engravings  he  addressed  him- 
self directly  to  nature.  He  truthfully  rendered  the 
vast  horizons  bounded  by  high  mountains  and  en- 
livened by  large  trees  and  well-known  buildings.  His 
art  accommodated  itself  to  the  peculiarities  of  differ- 
ent countries,  and  his  style  was  affected  by  the  beauty 
of  the  landscapes  he  subsequently  visited.  William 
of  Ileusch,  a  fellow-countryman  and  disciple  of  John 
Both,  followed  his  example  and  sought  his  models  ini 
Italy.  He  engraved  the  scenes  of  that  country  very 
truthfully,  and  we  must  not  be  severe  in  our  criti- 
cism, remembering  how  much  he  accomplished  by 
means  of  a  process  so  little  fitted  to  render  the  gran- 
deur of  the  scenes  he  chose.  Herman  Swanevelt 
spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  Italy,  and  yielded 
entirely  to  the  influence  of  Claude  Lorraine,  address- 
ing himself  directly  to  that  master's  works.  His  en- 


112  ENGRAVING   Df 

gravings  show  tliis  influence,  but  the  execution  is  cold 
and  monotonous. 

Jacob  Kuysdael,  the  greatest  landscape  painter  of 
Holland,  did  not  know  Italy,  and  never  left  his  native 
town,  Haarlem.  "We  need  not  here  epeak  of  his  talent 
as  a  painter,  and  some  of  his  engravings  are  quite 
equal  to  his  pictures.  His  style  is  easy,  his  drawing 
skilful  and  decided  ;  he  is  preeminently  successful  in 
rendering  trees  and  foliage  ;  his  work  is  always  clear 
and  distinct.  The  light  is  vivid  and  cleverly  distrib- 
uted, whilst  the  shadows  are  rendered  with  truth  and 
care.  The  warm  coloring  of  his  pictures  is  repro- 
duced in  his  engravings.  His  works  arc  not  numer- 
ous ;  "  The  Corn  Field,"  and  the  "  Travellers,"  are 
good  illustrations  of  his  great  and  noble  genius.  The 
first  is  an  unrivalled  work.  A  simple  corn  field  shut 
in  by  tall  trees,  the  leafy  boughs,  the  tangled  shrubs, 
the  gentle  breeze,  the  tender  light,  even  the  refreshing 
fragrance  of  the  country,  are  all  happily  and  clearly 
rendered.  Anthony  Waterloo  never  left  Holland, 
and  was  seldom  absent  from  Utrecht,  his  native  place. 
Unlike  most  of  the  artists  we  have  named,  he  acquired 
greater  reputation  as  an  engraver  than  as  a  painter. 
His  fame  exceeded  his  merits.  His  etchings  are  mo- 
notonous and  labored,  and  he  had  recourse  to  the  burin 
to  bring  any  object,  such  as  the  trunk  of  a  tree  or  a 
tangled  bough,  into  prominence.  This  practice  was 
new  to  the  Dutch  school,  and  had  its  disadvantages. 
It  is  easy  enough  to  make  soft  and  pleasing  strokes 
with  the  grp.ver,  but  they  retain  undue  importance 


!•  5 


THE    LOW    COUNTRIES.  115 

when  the  rest  of  an  etching  begins  to  fade  from  the 
worn-out  plates.  Bad  impressions  are  the  result,  and 
Waterloo's  works  were  no  exceptions.  The  scenes  he 
represented  are  of  little  variety  or  extent.  A  corner 
of  a  forest  with  a  winding  lane,  a  mill  above  a  tor- 
rent, a  cottage  overshadowed  by  a  few  trees. — such 
are  the  aspects  of  nature  in  which  this  artist  delight- 
ed. He  never  attempted  to  render  Holland's  charac- 
teristic landscapes,  its  vast  horizons,  or  its  boundless 
plains  watered  by  countless  canals. 

The  sea  shared  with  the  forests,  the  green  hillocks, 
and  the  plains  of  Holland,  the  enthusiasm  of  inter- 
preters, and  Rembrandt,  who  inaugurated  the  marine 
style,  was  as  successful  in  it  as  in  every  thing  else. 
Those  who  followed  him  were  not  so  fortunate.  Louis 
Backuysen,  one  of  the  cleverest  Dutch  painters,  en- 
graved several  sea  pieces  with  the  needle,  which  are 
wanting  in  his  usual  skill.  The  effect  of  the  wind  on 
the  sea  is  well  given,  but  his  last  efforts  were  too 
hastily  executed,  and  the  figures  on  the  sterns  of  the 
vessels  are  clumsy  and  incorrect.  On  canvas  Backuy- 
sen renders  eloquently  the  most  majestic  aspects  of 
the  sea,  but  on  copper  he  is  weak  and  irresolute. 

Isaiah  Van  der  Velde  was  not  more  successful ;  he 
tried  to  represent  seaports  crowded  with  ships,  or 
skaters  gliding  over  the  ice  ;  but  the  abrupt  and  harsh 
hatchings  of  his  needle,  crossed  by  strokes  of  the 
graver,  most  inadequately  render  the  appearance  of 
the  sea,  the  river,  or  the  canal  he  is  drawing.  Peter 
Bout  used  a  very  tine  needle,  and  drew  charming  lit- 


116  ENGRAVING    EN 

tie  villages  washed  and  shut  in  by  the  sea ;  but  the 
figures  in  his  sea-pieces  want  character,  and  his  de- 
signs are  not  well  finished.  Nevertheless,  he  accom- 
plished something,  and  his  five  or  six  known  sea- 
pieces  give  a  true  idea  of  the  appearance  of  the  Korth 
Sea.  Rene  Nooms,  now  generally  known  under  the 
name  of  Zeeraan  (seaman),  was  born  at  Amsterdam 
about  1612.  lie  was  so  passionately  fond  of  painting 
the  sea,  that  he  embarked  as  a  simple  sailor,  and 
made  several  voyages  in  order  to  study  the  fickle  ele- 
ment in  her  smiling  and  angry  moods,  and  to  learn 
the  construction  of  vessels.  It  is  to  this  special  edu- 
cation that  his  engravings  owe  the  truthfulness  so  lit- 
tle shared  by  contemporary  works  ;  and  if  the  gazer 
does  not  find  in  Zeeman's  engravings  an  understand- 
ing of  effect,  or  great  beauty  in  the  execution,  the 
historian  will  prize  them  for  their  truthfulness  and 
precision,  as  well  as  for  the  information  they  afford. 

Side  by  side  with  the  followers  of  Rembrandt, 
who  produced  famous  and  valuable  etchings,  arose  an 
equally  celebrated  school  of  artists  who  employed  the 
graver,  and  left  to  posterity  striking  proofs  of  their 
talent.  We  have  spoken  of  the  unfortunate  tendency 
of  beginners  to  desert  their  own  land  for  Italy,  and 
especially  for  Rome,  where  they  learnt  of  the  artists 
of  the  decadence,  and  parodied  their  works.  We  have 
now  to  consider  artists  who  took  a  higher  tone.  They 
too  left  their  country  for  a  time,  but  when  they  had 
learnt  all  they  could  from  foreign  masters  they  re- 
turned home  and  devoted  the  greater  part  of  their 


THE    LOW    COUXTKIES.  lit 

existence  to  reproducing  the  works  of  their  fellow- 
c.ountrymen.  This  school  of  Dutch  line-engravers  did 
not  arise  till  the  seventeenth  century.  After  Crispin 
Van  de  Pass,  who  gave  to  his  works  a  warm  and 
pleasant  tint,  we  find  a  number  of  artists  who,  we 
may  say,  used  the  graver  too  boldly.  At  first  Henry 
Goltzius  was  timid  and  almost  too  anxious  about  deli- 
cacy and  precision,  his  small  portraits  rivalled  minia- 
tures, and  were  equal  to  the  most  delicate  works  ever 
engraved,  but  as  soon  as  he  felt  himself  master  of  his 
instrument,  he  took  an  entirely  different  course,  and, 
recalling  Albert  Durer's  style,  he  published  some  of 
the  most  extravagant  prints  imagination  ever  con- 
ceived. By  means  of  deep  strokes  at  wide  intervals 
he  tried  to  reproduce  works  complicated  and  pedantic, 
and  succeeded  too  well  in  literally  copying  these  ex- 
aggerated forms,  and  whilst  gaining  the  reputation  of 
being  one  of  the  cleverest  line-engravers  of  Hol- 
land, he  lost  thut  of  a  correct  and  skilful  designer, 
which  his  first  works  had  gained  for  him.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  he  had  many  imitators.  His  manner 
attracted  those  who  were  fond  of  novelty  and  cared 
little  by  what  means  they  attained  notoriety. 

Amongst  the  least  intelligent  of  Goltzius'  imita- 
tors were  John  Saenrcdam  and  John  Miiller.  It  is 
impossible  to  exceed  their  skill  in  using  the  needle,  or 
engraving  on  copper ;  but  their  very  ease  of  execu- 
tion led  them  to  delight  in  terribly  distorted  forms. 
Their  ambition  was  to  vanquish  apparently  insur- 
mountable difficulties  and  they  were  always  absorbed 


118  EXGRAYIXG   m 

in  the  desire  to  show  their  power.  They  took  their 
models  chiefly  from  Bartholomew  Spranger,  the  most 
affected  urtist  of  the  school.  James  Matliam,  another 
pupil  of  Goltzius,  was  not  content  with  his  master's 
Wessons.  He  made  a  long  stay  in  Italy,  and  at  Home 
took  counsel  with  his  countryman,  Cornelius  Bloe- 
maert.  But  this  new  teaching  spoilt  his  originality, 
although  he  learnt  1'rom  it  to  seek  something  better 
than  complicated  subjects  and  exaggerated  forms  :  he 
engraved  after  Znccaro,  and  sometimes  even  after 
Raphael  and  Titian.  His  prints  merely  produce  with 
a  weary  monotony  the  works  of  these  great  masters. 
His  portraits  alone,  which  show  careful  study  of 
physiognomy,  are  worthy  of  notice.  Henry  Hondius 
never  left  the  Hague,  his  native  place.  For  fifty 
years  he  superintended  a  studio  there  in  which  many 
artists  were  educated.  It  is  not  easy  to  define  his 
manner,  it  is  dry  and  wanting  in  grandeur.  He  had 
not  sufficient  talent  to  give  his  pupils  and  the  artists 
he  employed — for  he  was  rather  a  publisher  than  a 
master-engraver — a  true  impulse ;  the  prints  which 
bear  his  name,  either  as  publisher  or  engraver,  are  of 
no  particular  value. 

After  line-engraving  had  been  practised  in  Hol- 
land for  a  long  time,  with  more  or  less  success,  a  mo- 
ment came  when  this  art  attained  to  so  considerable 
a  position  that  neighboring  countries  might  well  have 
been  jealous.  In  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury a  national  school  of  painting  arose  entirely  under 
the  influence  of  Rembrandt,  and  engravers  sprung  up 


12. — Costume.    Etigraved  ty 


THE   LOW    COUNTRIES.  121 

ready  to  reproduce  the  new  painters'  compositions 
and  their  own,  and  to  spread  abroad  the  fame  of  those 
who  guided  them.  A  Dutchman,  Peter  Sou t man, 
born  at  Haarlem  about  1580,  who  attended  Rubens' 
studio,  and  successfully  engraved  some  of  his  works, 
seems  to  have  given  the  impulse  to  this  new  school 
of  engraving.  He  attracted  and  won  the  confidence 
of  young  engravers.  Jonas  Suyderoef  entered  his 
studio  and  borrowed  from  his  master  the  convenient 
process  of  combining  line-engraving  with  etching. 
In  this  mode  of  working  aquafortis  plays  a  secondary 
part,  being  employed  merely  to  prepare  the  plate  and 
is  disused  altogether  when  the  graver  begins  its  work. 
Amongst  Jonas  Suyderoefs  works — important  on  ac- 
count of  the  portraits  after  P.  Soutman,  Franz  Hals, 
and  Rubens,  which  they  contain — there  is  one  plate 
which  would  alone  suffice  to  render  him  famous  as  an 
artist.  We  allude  to  the  "  Peace  of  Munster,"  after 
Gerard  Terburg,  which  contains  no  less  than  fifty 
portraits — those  of  the  plenipotentiaries  met  together 
to  sign  the  treaty.  This  grand  engraving  shows  ex- 
ceptional knowledge  of  physiognomy,  the  picture  is 
reproduced  with  extraordinary  exactne&s,  and  in  this 
case  we  may  safely  assert  that  the  engraver  was  a 
worthy  rival  of  the  painter.  Cornelius  Visscher  was 
also  a  pupil  of  P.  Soutman.  His  style  differs  from 
his  master's  more  than  did  that  of  Jonas  Suyderoef. 
From  Soutman,  it  is  true,  lie  learnt  scrupulously  to 
respect  the  models  before  him  ;  but  his  mode  of  re- 
producing the  works  he  composed  or  copied  was  very 


ENGRAVING    IN 

different.  He  seldom  used  aquafortis,  but  worked  on 
the  bare  copper  with  the  tool.  At  first  his  style  was 
very  formal,  and  his  plates  resembled  the  feeblest 
efforts  of  a  Polish  painter,  Jeremiah  Falck,  who  spent 
some  lime  in  Holland.  His  manner,  however,  rapid- 
ly changed  as  his  talent  became  developed.  Yisscher 
engraved  the  portrait  of  Peter  Scriverius  under  the 
direction  of  Peter  Soutinan,  and  he  did  not  fail  to 
bear  witness  to  his  master's  share  in  this  \vork,  which 
he  signed  thus:  "  Corn.  Visscher  sculpsit.  P.  Sout- 
irianno  dirigente"  An  act  of  respect  the  more  praise- 
worthy, as  in  this  engraving  the  pupil  is  already  seen 
to  be  superior  to  his  master.  Visscher's  works  are  too 
numerous  for  us  to  name  all  the  best,  it  will  be  better 
merely  to  single  out  those  which  are  universally  ad- 
mired :  k'  The  Ratcatcher "  and  "  The  Cook "  are 
worthy  of  taking  first  rank  in  the  history  of  engrav- 
ing. This  artist  was  still  more  successful  with  his 
portraits ;  he  excelled  in  representing  flesh,  and  his 
works,  like  his  subjects,  are  of  infinite  variety.  A 
clear  and  powerful  colorist,  a  skilful  and  accurate  de- 
'signer,  he  knew  how  to  profit  by  the  examples  of  his 
predecessors,  and  his  works  bear  witness  to  his  great 
admiration  for  Rembrandt,  Franz  Hals,  and  Van  der 
Heist. 

Cornelius  Van  Dal  en,  who  followed  C.  Visscher's 
instructions,  did  not  handle  the  graver  with  equal 
ease.  But  in  this  excellent  school  he  acquired  respect 
for  good  drawing  and  knowledge  of  coloring.  The 
portraits  of  Alphonse  d'Este,  of  Aretirio,  and  of  Boc 


THE    LOW    COUNTRIES.  123 

eaccio  are  considered  Cornelius  Van  Daleii's  best 
works  ;  they  are  certainly  his  simplest.  C.  Van  Da- 
len  required  to  work  from  a  good  model  or  from  na- 
ture ;  when  employed  on  an  inferior  composition  his 
want  of  interest  is  evident.  "When  he  engraved  works 
after  Rubens  or  Flinck,  which  suited  his  taste,  be  ren- 
dered the  powerful  coloring  of  these  masters  witb 
peculiar  skill,  and  at  the  same  time  gave  proof  of  his 
own  great  knowledge.  But  his  portraits  are  his  best 
works.  Whether  he  drew  from  nature  or  borrowed 
his  model  from  Gov.  Flinck,  J.  Livens,  or  other  less 
famous  Dutch  portrait-painters,  his  works  are  remark- 
able for  powerful  execution  and  knowledge  of  physi- 
ognomy. 

Abraham  Bloteling  also  belonged  to  the  school  of 
Cornelius  Visscher.  lie  was  born  at  Amsterdam  in 
1634.  His  works  are  very  numerous  and  more  varied 
than  those  of  the  artists  AVC  have  named ;  and  al- 
though they  do  not  take  first  rank,  they  show  that 
their  author  had  a  certain  skill  in  different  styles. 
His  etchings  are  poor  with  the  exception  of  one  mas- 
terpiece, the  portrait  of  the  painter,  Gov.  Flinck ;  but 
all  his  portraits  are  better  than  his  compositions.  He 
employed  mezzotint  largely  and  has  left  many  en- 
gravings in  it.  He  only  attained  true  superiority 
when  he  left  his  own  country  for  England,  and  worked 
at  pictures  by  Sir  Peter  Lely  and  other  clever  por- 
trait-painters. 

At  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  Dutch  art 
began  to  decline,  or  rather  it  almost  entirely  disap- 


124:  ENGRAVING    IN 

peared.  Genius  became  rarer  and  rarer.  We  find 
good  workmen  it  is  true,  but  they  were  workmen,  not 
artists ;  the  skill  of  Rembrandt  and  his  imitators, 
with  Cornelius  Visscher  at  their  head,  was  gone  never 
to  return.  Romyn  de  Ilooghe  engraved  a  great  vari- 
ety of  subjects  with  surprising  rapidity  ;  battles,  cere- 
monials, costumes,  portraits,  were  all  rendered  by  this 
artist's  fertile  imagination,  but  he  had  no  taste  and 
was  ignorant  of  the  laws  of  drawing.  John  Luyken 
although  far  less  skilful  than  Romyn  de  Hooghe,  had 
also  a  fertile  imagination  and  rare  facility  of  execu- 
tion, but  his  needle  served  his  intellect  badly,  it  was 
heavy  and  monotonous,  so  that  his  etchings  are  dull 
and  without  character.  Jarnes  Houbraken  strove  in 
vain,  during  a  great  part  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
to  revive  the  beautiful  style  of  etchings  brought  to  so 
high  a  pitch  by  Cornelius  Visscher  arid  his  pupils. 
His  drawing  is  incorrect,  and  he  only  showed  great 
skill  in  handling  the  graver.  In  addition  to  his  nu- 
merous portraits  he  produced  some  clever  engravings 
after  C.  Troost  which  represent  scenes  of  local  in- 
terest. 

In  the  year  1780,  the  date  of  the  death  of  Hou- 
braken, the  history  of  engraving  in  Holland  must  end. 
If  we  pursued  our  inquiry  further  we  should  have  to 
name  a  number  of  inferior  artists,  and  this,  we  think, 
would  lead  to  confusion  and  be  unjust  to  those  who 
really  advanced  their  art,  and  deserve  to  be  remem- 
bered. 

We  have  named  Rembrandt  as  the  inaugurator  of 


THE    LOW    COUNTRIES.  125 

the  Dutch  school,  and  Peter  Paul  Rubens  takes  the 
same  position  in  Flanders.  We  do  not  mean  to  ignore 
numerous  painters  who  preceded  him  and  took  les- 
sons of  Van  Eyck  and  Memling  ;  but  we  are  consid- 
ering the  history  of  engraving,  not  of  painting,  and 
we  think  we  may  justly  assert  that  a  true  school  was 
not  founded  in  Flanders  until  Rubens  gave  engravers 
an  aim,  and  aroused  their  ambition  by  his  works. 
The  art  could  not,  of  course,  spring  into  fame  and 
power  at  once,  and  before  it  made  its  name  known 
many  inferior  engravers  were  at  work.  The  engrav- 
ings of  Wierix  are  executed  with  talent,  still  they  do 
not,  betoken  any  great  knowledge,  unless  we  except  a 
few  portraits  which  are  finished  with  great  beauty 
and  delicacy.  The  Sadelers  made  up  for  want  of 
skill  by  great  fertility  of  imagination.  Ad.  Collaert 
devoted  himself  to  allegory  and  sacred  subjects  ;  the 
compositions  of  Martin  de  Vos  and  Stradan  were  his 
chief  favorites.  Finally,  Cornelius,  Theodore,  and 
Philip  Galle  excelled  the  engravers  we  have  named  ; 
their  early  works  show  great  power,  but  their  genius 
was  not.  fully  developed  until  they  came  under  the 
influence  of  Rubens,  to  whom  was  reserved  the  honor 
of  founding  the  national  Flemish  school  of  engraving. 
Peter  Paul  Rubens  was  born  at  Siegen,  in  May, 
1577 ;  he  spent  his  early  years  there,  and  then  went 
to  Cologne  for  a  time ;  he  did  not  reside  at  Antwerp 
with  his  mother  until  the  year  1588,  after  the  death 
of  his  father.  "When  settled  in  Antwerp,  the  first 
care  of  Maria  Pypeling,  Rubens'  mother,  was  to  ob- 


126  ENGRA.VTXG    IX 

tain  a  good  education  for  her  son.  His  studies  over, 
Rubens  entered  the  service  of  the  widow  of  the  Count 
of  Lalaing,  Margaret  of  Ligne,  as  a  page.  He  did 
not  long  remain  in  this,  to  him,  uncongenial  position, 
but  obtained  his  mother's  permission  to  adopt  the 
profession  of  an  artist,  for  which  he  had  long  shown 
a  great  inclination.  His  first  master  was  Tobias  Ver- 
haegt,  a  painter  almost  unknown  now  ;  he  did  not 
remain  with  him  long,  but  before  going  to  the  studio 
of  his  true  master,  Otto  Venius,  to  complete  his  stud- 
ies,  he  was  for  a  time  under  Adrian  Yan  der  !Noort. 
After  four  years  with  Venius,  Rubens  determined  to 
go  to  Italy.  He  left  Antwerp  on  the  9th  of  May, 
1600,  and  visited  successively  Venice,  Mantua,  Rome, 
Genoa,  and  Milan.  He  lived  by  preference  at  Ven- 
ice, and  during  a  long  stay  there,  enthusiastically 
copied  paintings  by  Paul  Veronese,  Titian,  and  Tin- 
toretto. It  was  in  Venice,  too,  that  he  made  friends 
with  a  gay  young  officer  of  good  family,  who  took 
him  to  the  court  of  the  Duke  of  Mantua,  Vincenzo 
da  Gonzaga.  The  duke,  who  was  devoted  to  litera- 
ture and  the  fine  arts,  liked  to  be  surrounded  by  the 
chief  authors  and  painters  of  the  day  ;  he  retained 
the  Flemish  artist  near  him,  and  entrusted  him  with 
the  execution  of  several  works.  Better  still,  he  dis- 
covered that  Rubens  had  the  qualities  of  a  courtier 
as  well  as  those  of  a  great  painter,  and  that  he  might 
be  more  useful  than  many  of  those  who  studied  diplo- 
macy as  a  profession.  He  was  so  convinced  of  this, 
that  when  he  wished  to  send  some  splendid  presents 


THE    LOW    COUNTRIES.  127 

to  Philip  III.,  king  of  Spain,  he  chose  Rubens  as  his 
ambassador.  The  painter  having  proved  himself 
worthy  of  the  confidence  reposed  in  him,  received  a 
great  reward  on  his  return  ;  the  duke  gave  him  per- 
mission to  go  to  Rome  to  study  the  masterpieces  of 
which  the  Papal  city  is  full.  Rubens  lingered  some 
time  in  Italy,  and  was  thinking  of  going  to  France, 
when  sudden  tidings  reached  him  at  Milan  which 
abruptly  ended  his  wanderings  ;  his  mother  was  seri- 
ously ill  and  longed  to  embrace  her  son  before  her 
death.  Rubens  set  out  without  delay,  but  his  haste 
availed  him  nothing,  his  mother  died  whilst  he  was 
still  far  from  Antwerp.  Overcome  with  grief,  he  took 
refuge  in  the  convent  of  St.  Michael,  where  she  was 
buried,  and  devoted  the  leisure  hours  of  this  volun- 
tary seclusion  to  raising  a  tomb  in  his  mother's  honor, 
the  designs  for  which  he  supplied  himself.  He  com- 
posed the  epitaph  also,  and  placed  a  picture  he  had 
painted  at  Rome  beneath  the  Mausoleum.  When  the 
first  sharpness  of  grief  had  passed  away,  Rubens  re- 
turned to  society,  and  took  up  his  abode  in  Antwerp, 
where  he  had  a  house  built  which  he  embellished 
with  works  of  art  of  every  description.  He  now  de- 
voted himself  entirely  to  work,  and  many  long  years 
of  study ;  but  little  occurred  worthy  of  notice.  On 
the  13th  of  October,  1609,  he  married  Isabella  Brandt ; 
in  1620  he  went  to  Paris  to  paint  the  Luxembourg 
Gallery  by  order  of  Maria  de  Medicis.  He  remained 
some  time  in  Paris  and  then  returned  to  Antwerp, 
which  he  did  not  again  leave  until  the  death  of  his 


128  ENGRAVING    IN 

wife,  when,  being  unable  to  continue  his  art  by  grief, 
he  accepted  a  mission  entrusted  to  him  by  the  Arch- 
duke Albert  and  the  Archduchess  Isabella.  The  rest 
of  Rubens'  existence  was  devoted  rather  to  politics 
than  art.  He  was  sent  to  Spain  and  England  to  ne- 
gotiate peace  between  the  two  countries  which  had 
been  at  war  with  one  another  for  many  years.  He 
had  occasion  to  use  his  brush  in  these  successive  mis- 
sions, as  he  often  explained  the  object  of  his  mission 
while  taking  the  portraits  of  the  monarchs  to  whom 
lie  was  accredited.  He  has  left  many  glorious  traces 
of  his  visit  both  at  Madrid  and  London.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1630,  he  married  again.  His  second  wife  was 
his  niece,  Helen  Fourment,  by  whom  lie  had  five 
children.  Rubens  died  at  Antwerp  of  an  attack  of 
gout  on  the  30th  of  May,  1640.  His  funeral  was 
celebrated  with  very  great  pomp.  In  him  Flanders 
not  only  lost  her  greatest  painter  but  one  of  her 
greatest  men. 

Rubens'  influence  upon  engraving  was  most  de- 
cided. Not  only  were  his  paintings  excellent  models 
for  the  artists  who  engraved  them,  but  he  superin- 
tended their  works  himself,  and  touched  them  up 
with  great  skill,  never  allowing  a  print  to  be  pub- 
lished without  his  approbation.  It  is  to  this  constant 
vigilance,  to  this  self-respect,  so  to  speak,  that  Rubens 
owes  his  immense  reputation.  Engravings  of  his 
works  are  widely  distributed,  and  give  an  excellent 
idea  of  the  painter's  genius  to  those  who  have  not 
seen  the  originals.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  Ru- 


..JBHWpr 

Fig,  13.— Saint  Catherine.     Engraving  attributed  to  P  P.  RUBENS, 


THE    LOW    COUNTRIES.  131 

bens'  paintings,  famous  as  they  are  for  their  life  and 
power,  for  their  harmony  of  tone  and  vividness  of 
coloring,  offered  exceptional  difficulties  to  engravers, 
who  have  only  two  colors,  black  ink  and  white  paper, 
at  their  command  ;  but  all  difficulties  were  surmount- 
ed by  the  great  master's  untiring  supervision  ;  and 
engravers,  who  confined  themselves  to  the  burin, 
brought  out  copies  in  all  respects  worthy  of  the  origi- 
nals. We  are  assured  that  Rubens  himself  executed 
some  engravings ;  but  we  find  it  difficult  to  believe 
that  the  plates  signed,  "  Rubens  fecit  "  "  invert  it"  or 
"  excudil"  were  really  by  him.  Only  one  engrav- 
ing, "  St.  Catherine,"  can,  we  think,  be  attributed  to 
him  with  any  justice.  It  has  qualities  of  the  first 
order,  although  the  execution  is  not  very  superior. 
When  we  have  studied  the  works  of  those  who  gen- 
erally copied  Rubens  on  copper,  we  shall  scarcely 
regret  that  he  did  not  leave  more  of  his  own  engrav- 
ings. 

The  most  skilful  of  the  artists  formed  in  Rubens' 
school  was  Schelte  of  Bolswert,  who  was  born  at 
Bolswert,  in  Friesland,  about  1586.  With  his  broth- 
er, Boethius  of  Bolswert,  an  artist  of  less  talent  and 
interior  reputation,  he  came  to  study  engraving  at 
Antwerp,  where  he  WHS  a  fellow-pupil  of  Paul  Pon- 
tius. He  was  the  first  who  tried  to  do  more  than 
coldly  imitate  a  painting  in  engraving,  he  chose  as 
models  works  full  of  life  and  vivid  coloring,  and  tried 
to  express  these  qualities  in  his  work.  He  succeeded 
perfectly.  He  was  a  complete  master  of  the  process 


132  ENGRAVING   IN 

and  obtained  the  most  pleasing  results  by  his  skil- 
fully disposed  strokes.  The  white  paper  throws  up 
high  lights  and  the  dark  portions  are  admirably  given 
by  bold  strokes  ending  in  dots.  In  the  works  which 
Bolswert  executed  in  the  zenith  of  his  powers  there  is 
no  display  of  his  own  personal  talent ;  he  did  not 
parade  his  skill  as  a  line-engraver,  his  ambition  was 
something  higher ;  he  aimed  to  render  as  faithfully  as 
possible,  by  a  process  which  could  not  call  in  the  aid 
of  color,  the  works  of  his  contemporaries.  He  natu- 
rally preferred  Rubens'  paintings,  for  that  master  was 
at  the  head  of  his  school ;  but  he  was  not  therefore 
indifferent  to  good  works  by  Rubens'  pupils.  His 
engravings  of  "  The  Musicians,"  after  Jordaens,  and 
the  "  Drunken  Silenus,"  after  Anthony  Vandyck, 
may  rank  with  his  magnificent  copies  of  "  The  As- 
sumption," "  The  Miraculous  Draught  of  Fishes,"  and 
"  The  Resurrection." 

Paul  Pontius,  who  worked  side  by  side  with 
Schelte  of  Bolswert,  and  shared  with  him  the  friend- 
ship of  Rubens,  was  almost  equally  gifted,  and  re- 
produced the  master's  works  as  successfully.  His  en- 
graving was  plastic  and  correct ;  he  rendered  the 
color  and  consistency  of  flesh  and  the  flowing  folds 
of  drapery  with  equal  power.  Paul  Pontius  carried 
the  science  of  chiaroscuro  further  than  any  engraver  of 
Rubens'  school,  and  his  constant  endeavor  to  give  the 
luminous  appearance  of  paintings  in  his  plates  saved 
him  from  undue  striving  after  brilliant  execution. 

He  engraved   many   of  Rubens'   pictures ; 


THE    LOW    COUNTRIES.  133 

"  The  Feast  of  Pentecost,"  "  The  Assumption,"  "  Su- 
sannah  at  the  Bath,"  "  The  Presentation  in  the  Tem- 
ple," and  others,  are  by  no  means  inferior  to  Bols- 
wert's  best  plates  ;  they  have  the  same  knowledge  of 
design  and  execution,  the  same  conscientious  draw- 
ing, which  neither  excludes  originality  nor  fetters  the 
individual  imagination.  One  of  the  best  known  and 
most  famous  of  Paul  Pontius'  engravings  is  after  the 
celebrated  picture  by  Jordaens  in  the  Museum  of  the 
Louvre,  entitled  "  Le  Roi  Boit,"  or  "  Le  Fete  du 
Roi."  The  spirited  engraving  gives  the  somewhat 
coarse  coloring  of  the  picture  and  the  life-like  expres- 
sion of  the  figures  with  surprising  felicity. 

The  style  of  Lucas  Vorsterman  differs  somewhat 
from  that  of  the  preceding  artists.  His  manner  of 
engraving  is  not  so  spirited,  but  it  is  equally  clever ; 
he  reproduced  Rubens'  pictures  by  means  of  the  com- 
bination of  many  different  kinds  of  work.  By  varied 
lines  he  appropriately  rendered  the  different  parts  of 
a  picture  ;  curved  and  facile  strokes  give  the  outlines 
of  the  limbs,  and  draperies  are  produced  by  more  or 
less  condensed  lines,  according  to  the  strength  of  the 
light  upon  them.  "Susannah  and  the  Elders,"  "The 
Adoration  of  the  Shepherds,"  and  several  "  Holy 
Families,"  show  the  great  genius  of  Vorsterman,  and 
prove  him  to  have  been  one  of  Rubens'  most  faithful 
interpreters.  His  ambition  was  not  contented  with 
producing  Rubens'  works  with  fidelity,  and  therefore 
he  went  to  England,  where  he  spent  eight  years  in 
copying  paintings  of  another  and  different  style. 


134  ENGRAVING   IN 

Whether  he  turned  to  Raphael,  to  Annibale  Carracci, 
or  Caravaggio,  he  could  not  shake  off  the  influence 
of  Rubens.  Under  his  graver,  Raphael's  outlines 
lost  their  exquisite  purity  and  grace,  and  the  figures 
acquired  an  appearance  of  good  living  of  which  the 
great  Italian  master  certainly  never  dreamt.  Vortter- 
man  could  never  shake  off  the  style  of  the  naturalis- 
tic school  in  which  he  had  been  reared  ;  he  could  not 
realize  the  majestic  and  noble  ideal  of  these  masters. 
He  was  more  at  ease  with  a  canvas  by  Michael  angelo 
of  Caravaggio,  "  The  Virgin  Adored  by  Two  Pil- 
grims," the  sober  coloring  of  which  he  faithfully  ren- 
dered ;  but  it  was  a  fellow-countryman  of  his,  An- 
thony Varidyck,  who  inspired  the  best  engravings  he 
produced  in  England. 

Peter  de  Jode,  the  younger,  also  belongs  to  the 
school  of  Rubens.  He  was  born  at  Antwerp  in  1606. 
He  studied  and  worked  for  a  long  time  with  Peter  de 
Jode,  the  elder ;  and  in  his  early  works,  which  were 
clumsy  and  inexperienced,  he  reproduced  his  father's 
style.  It  is  not  easy  to  distinguish  his  first  engrav- 
ings from  those  of  the  elder  Jode.  Peter,  the  young- 
er, showed  no  original  power  until  he  ceased  to  work 
for  the  publisher  Bonenfant,  with  whom  his  father 
had  placed  him.  He  then  turned  to  paintings  by 
Rubens,  Vandyck,  and  Jordaens.  In  his  engravings 
after  these  masters  he  shows  himself  a  worthy  riva. 
of  Bolswert,  Paul  Pontius,  and  Lucas  Yorsterman. 
His  touch  is  easy  yet  powerful,  he  delights  in  rich 
combinations,  and  is  extremely  successful  in  render- 


THE    LOW    COUNTRIES.  135 

ing  pictures  full  of  color  on  copper.  "  The  Marriage 
of  St.  Catherine,"  "  The  Three  Graces,"  after  Rubens, 
"St.  Augustine,"  after  Vandyck,  and  "The  Miracle 
of  St.  Martin  of  Tours,"  after  Jordaens,  place  Peter 
de  Jode,  the  younger,  amongst  the  best  engravers  of 
the  Flemish  school. 

The  school  which  Rubens  raised  and  directed  in- 
cludes many  other  artists.  We  have  spoken  of  the 
most  illustrious ;  but  there  are  some  amongst  the 
second-rate  artists  of  the  same  time  who  occasionally 
most  successfully  imitated  their  master.  Amongst 
them  was  Peter  Soutman.  Dutch  by  birth,  he  crossed 
the  Scheldt,  and  came  to  Antwerp  to  study  under 
Rubens.  He  used  etching  largely,  and  was  chiefly 
skilful  in  rendering  the  delicate  figures  in  his  master's 
works.  We  will  enumerate  a  few  others :  Hans 
Withdceck,  who  heightened  his  engravings  with  tints, 
and  by  this  method  made  them  look  like  chiaroscuro 
on  copper ;  Cornelius  Galle,  who  engraved  "  Judith 
and  Holoferaes  "  somewhat  clumsily  ;  Andrew  Stock, 
a  Dutchman  established  at  Antwerp,  whose  engrav- 
ing of  the  "  Sacrifice  of  Abraham  "  is  not  equal  to 
the  original ;  Peter  Yan  Sonipel,  a  pupil  of  Peter 
Soutman,  and  an  expert  designer,  who,  though  supe- 
rior to  the  others,  never  mastered  the  difficulties  of 
representing  color  ;  Michael  Natalis,  who  joined  the 
studio  of  Cornelius  Bloemaert  at  Rome,  where  he 
acquired  a  frigid  and  inharmonious  style  of  engrav- 
ing, which  he  could  not  shake  off,  even  when  work- 
ing at  paintings  by  Rubens  ;  James  Matham,  a  pupil 


136  ENGRAVING   IN 

of  Goltzius,  who  could  not  free  himself  from  his  mas- 
ter's mannerism,  and  whose  engravings,  with  all  their 
profound  knowledge  of  art,  failed  to  give  the  coloring 
or  symmetry  of  Rubens'  works ;  Alexander  Yoct, 
who  drew  incorrectly,  hut,  being  a  pupil  of  Paul 
Pontius,  excelled  in  coloring,  and  whose  engravings 
after  Rubens  ("  Judith  and  Holofernes  "  amongst  oth- 
ers) give  a  fair  notion  of  the  originals,  although  the 
bold  and  masterly  drawing  is  wanting.  To  conclude 
this  list,  Christopher  Jegher,  a  German  wood-engra- 
ver, left  his  country  to  establish  himself  in  Flanders. 
His  engravings  were  noticed  by  Rubens,  who  wished 
to  have  some  of  his  own  works  reproduced  by  this 
process.  The  great  master  himself  drew  some  de- 
signs on  wood,  and  the  engraver  had  only  to  follow 
scrupulously  his  outlines  and  hatchings.  The  en- 
gravings thus  executed  by  Jegher  are  true  fac-similes 
of  Rubens'  designs.  Sometimes,  like  the  Italians, 
Jegher  imitated  several  tints  by  means  of  successive 
plates,  the  tinting  thus  rounding  off  the  outlines  ;  and 
to  this  day  these  camdieux,  as  they  are  called,  give  us 
with  a  valuable  exactitude  copies  of  the  Flemish 
painter's  designs. 

The  artists  who  took  lessons  from  Rubens  did  not, 
however,  confine  themselves  exclusively  to  his  paint- 
ings. We  have  already  spoken  of  engravings  after 
Jordaens,  Seghers,  and  Yandyck,  by  followers  of  Ru- 
bens. Works  of  this  kind  are  very  numerous  ;  and 
Anthony  Vandyck's  paintings  were  especially  ad- 
inired  and  patronized  by  engravers. 


Fig.  14.-  Portrait  ol  Suyders,  aa  etching,  by  ANT.  VANDYCK. 


TUE    LOW    COUNTRIES.  139 

When  considered  apart  from  other  painters,  An- 
thony Yandyck  is  a  master  of  the  first  order  ;  his  fig- 
ures are  all  unrivalled  in  distinguished  character,  deli- 
cacy and  elegance,  but,  as  compared  with  Peter  Paul 
Rubens,  he  can  only  take  the  second  place.  This  is 
but  just ;  he  came  after  Rubens,  and  profited  by  his 
example,  neither  had  he  the  same  wonderful  creative 
power  as  his  master.  In  his  portraits,  however,  Yan- 
dyck  is  not  inferior  to  Rubens ;  he  looks  at  nature 
from  a  different  point  of  view,  caring,  it  is  true,  more 
for  character  than  grandeur,  but  then,  his  works  have 
greater  interest  for  us  than  those  of  his  master.  Let 
us  explain.  He  was  not  content  merely  to  look  over 
engravings  after  his  works  by  Bolswert,  Paul  Pon- 
tius, or  Yorsterman,  or  to  superintend  engravers  ;  he 
used  the  tools  himself,  and  has  left  brilliant  proofs  of 
his  skill  in  this  kind  of  work.  His  compositions  are 
not  his  best  works  :  "  Christ  Crowned  with  Thorns," 
and  "  Titian  and  his  Mistress,"  do  not  show  much 
talent,  his  work  is  labored,  he  covered  his  paper  too 
closely  in  copying  flesh ;  but  he  made  up  for  this  in 
the  eighteen  portraits  which  he  most  delicately  and 
skilfully  engraved  with  the  needle.  They  are  of  art- 
ists and  amateurs,  friends  of  the  painter.  The  fea- 
tures are  life-like  and  wear  their  best  expression. 
Yandyck  was  more  successful  than  any  earlier  paint- 
er in  seizing  a  likeness.  After  a  few  impressions  had 
been  taken  of  the  portraits  which  this  great  master 
himself  drew  on  copper,  they  were  retouched  and 
completed  with  the  graver  by  professional  engravers  ; 


140  ENGRAVING    IN 

a  uniformity  was  thus  given  which  fitted  them  to  be 
included  in  the  series  of  "  Icones  Pictorum,"  pub- 
lished successively  by  Giles  Hendricx  and  Martin 
Van  den  Enden.  Engraved  by  L.  Vorsterman,  Bols- 
wert,  Paul  Pontius,  Peter  de  Jode,  and  others,  this 
magnificent  series  does  justice  to  the  genius  of  Van- 
dyck.  There  are  a  hundred  personages,  all  drawn 
with  surprising  correctness,  who  appear  to  be  living, 
thinking,  moving  beings ;  their  attitudes  are  natural 
and  simple,  whether  pensive  or  animated,  the  features 
reflect  the  intelligence  of  the  sitter,  and  the  engrav- 
ers of  these  portraits  have  faithfully  rendered  the 
master's  work.  They  gave  the  spirit,  the  grace,  and 
even  the  coloring  of  the  originals,  although  they  used 
the  graver,  which  is  not  so  facile  an  instrument  as  the 
needle. 

The  example  set  by  Vandyck  was  followed  by 
many  of  his  contemporaries,  and  other  Flemish  paint- 
ers largely  employed  etching.  They  deserve  men- 
tion, although  their  talent  did  not  equal  Yandyck's. 
Cornelius  Schut,  a  pupil  of  Rubens,  and  the  most 
diligent  of  these  engravers,  had  not  very  refined  taste. 
He  drew  heavily,  his  figures  are  clumsy  and  vulgar, 
his  Madonnas  and  heathen  deities  are  very  much 
alike.  The  same  head  surmounts  the  bust  of  the 
Yirgin  and  that  of  Ceres  ;  it  is  not  easy  to  distinguish 
one  from  the  other.  It  is  the  delicate  work  with  the 
needle  which  justifies  the  fame  of  Cornelius  Schut's 
engravings ;  he  wanted  only  rather  more  taste  to 
have  produced  valuable  works.  Francis  Van  den 


THE   LOW    COUXTKIES.  141 

Wyngaerde,  who  traded  in  engravings  at  Antwerp, 
and  signed  a  number  of  good  plates  of  that  school, 
with  exc.  (excudif)  after  his  name,  used  the  needle 
also.  His  manner  is  not  easy  to  define,  for  he  tried 
every  style,  and  fell  short  of  his  models  in  all.  His 
"  Holy  Family,"  after  Cornelius  Schut,  is  badly  drawn 
and  coldly  engraved.  The  same  faults  are  seen  in  a 
"  Flight  into  Egypt,'*  after  John  Thomas,  a  Flemish 
painter  who  is  now  scarcely  known,  but  who  succeed- 
ed better  with  etching  than  most  of  his  contempora- 
ries. Van  den  Wyngaerde,  who  used  a  very  fine 
needle,  engraved  several  battles,  which  have  the  one 
fault  of  being  too  confused.  He  shows  real  skill  in 
"  Hercules  and  the  Kemaean  Lion,"  after  Rubens,  and 
the  "  Portrait  of  Lucas  Vorsterman,"  after  J.  Livens ; 
his  style,  although  still  rather  clumsy,  faithfully  ren- 
ders the  manner  of  these  masters.  Theodore  Van 
Thulden  studied  with  Rubens,  and  accompanied  his 
master  to  Paris  when  he  went  to  decorate  the  gallery 
of  Luxembourg.  He  worked  with  Rubens  at  many 
of  his  pictures,  and  left  several  works  at  Paris, 
amongst  others,  the  paintings  which  filled  the  choir 
of  the  "  Eglise  des  Mathurins,"  since  destroyed. 
These  pictures  represent  many  episodes  in  the  life  of 
St.  John  of  Matlia ;  Van  Thulden  reproduced  them 
himself,  and  these  engravings  give  a  better  notion  of 
his  talent  than  those  of  the  '*  History  of  Ulysses," 
after  pictures  at  Fontainbleau  by  Kicolo  dell'  Abbate, 
which  were  designed  by  Primaticcio.  We  think  that 
these  engravings  have  only  one  good  point,  they  are 


14:2  ENGRAVING    IN   THE   LOW   COUNTRIES. 

reproductions  of  compositions  which  are  now  lost,  but 
they  have  none  of  the  characteristic  taste  of  the  Ital- 
ian master.  William  Panneels,  a  painter  and  en- 
graver of  Antwerp,  also  took  lessons  of  Rubens.  He 
engraved  so  many  of  his  master's  works,  that  he  must 
evidently  have  admired  Rubens  extremely  ;  but  his 
talent  did  not  equal  his  admiration,  and  his  engrav- 
ings fell  far  short  of  the  powerful  originals.  With 
an  idea  of  showing  his  great  knowledge  of  chiaros- 
curo, he  made  the  most  abrupt  changes  from  deep 
black  to  clear  white  ;  his  engravings,  in  consequence, 
were  harsh  and  gloomy,  unlike  his  earlier  works, 
which  were  either  bathed  in  soft  light,  or  lit  up  with 
splendor. 

The  Flemish  school  of  engraving  declined  and 
finally  became  extinct,  in  the  hands  of  these  second- 
rate  artists.  It  attained  its  highest  distinction  under 
Rubens,  and  disappeared  almost  entirely  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century  ;  the  works  produced  at  that  period 
scarcely  merit  notice.  The  constant  wars  which  deso- 
lated Flanders  were  little  calculated  to  encourage  art- 
ists ;  they  dispersed  abroad,  some  established  them- 
selves in  France,  where  art  was  at  its  greatest  height ; 
and  when  we  treat  of  the  French  artists,  we  shall 
meet  with  many  engravers  from  Antwerp.  They 
largely  influenced  the  progress  of  art  in  France,  and 
we  must  carefully  note  the  novelties  introduced  by 
foreign  masters  into  that  country. 


CHAPTER   Y. 

ENGRAVING     IN     GERMANY. 

Early  Engravers  on  Wood. — Maximilian's  Engravers. — Engraving  on 
Metal. — The  Master  of  1466,  Martin  Scliongauer  and  Albert  Diirer. 

IT  would  be  useless  to  resume  the  discussion  as  to 
Germany's  right  to  be  considered  the  first  inventor  of 
engraving.  Scholars  of  high  position  give  the  best 
reasons  for  so  many  diverse  opinions  that  the  question 
is  further  from  settlement  than  ever.  We  will  there- 
fore pass  it  by  and  confine  our  attention  to  works  of 
excellence  without  caring  whether  they  were  of  the 
earliest  date  or  not.  We  repeat  that  we  consider  the 
first  specimen  of  engraving — the  "  Speculum  Humanse 
Salvationis"  for  instance — to  be  the  work  of  some 
carver  of  images  of  the  Low  Countries  ;  German  his- 
torians refuse  to  give  this  credit  to  others,  although 
they  wilf  probably  agree  with  us  when  we  say  that 
no  wood-engravers  were  equal  to  the  German  masters 
of  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  centuries. 

The  "  St.  Christopher  "  of  1423  is  a  good  starting- 
point  for  every  discussion ;  we  shall  not  do  more  than 
glance  at  it  or  at  the  many  early  anonymous  wood- 


144:  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

cuts ;  passing  on  to  the  second  half  of  the  fifteenth 
century  before  we  find  real  talent  in  Germany  or  else- 
where. Engravings  produced  before  1450  were  mere 
copies  of  little  talent.  We  have  not  forgotten  that 
the  "  Biblia  Pauperum "  has  been  attributed  with 
some  justice  to  German  artists,  and  that  bibliographers 
mention  primers  which  were  published,  and  probably, 
also,  composed  in  Germany  ;  but,  nevertheless,  no 
true  artist  was  born  until  1460.  Until  then  wood- 
engraving,  of  which  we  are  at  the  present  moment 
speaking,  was  under  the  universal  influence  of  the 
school  of  Bruges,  and  a  distinctive  German  style  was 
scarcely  recognizable.  Pfister  is  for  us  the  earliest 
German  wood-engraver.  He  learnt  the  trade  of  a 
printer  and  engraver  from  Gutenberg,  established 
himself  at  Bamberg  about  1458,  and,  out  of  his  pri- 
vate resources,  published  a  number  of  works  men- 
tioned by  M.  Leon  de  Laborde  in  his  important  work, 
"  Les  Debuts  de  1'Imprimerie  a  Mayence  et  a  Bam- 
berg." These  engravings  in  early  printed  works  are 
decidedly  coarse  and  of  little  talent ;  but  then  they 
are  entirely  free  from  foreign  influence,  and  are  inter- 
esting to  us  because  they  decide  the  origin  of  wood- 
engraving  at  least  to  have  been  German. 

Although  xylography  was  quite  a  new  art  in  Ger- 
many and  elsewhere  in  the  fifteenth  century,  an  im- 
mense number  of  wood-cuts  were  published  at  this 
period  both  separately  and  in  printed  books.  This 
fertility  of  production  had  its  disadvantages  ;  the 
gifted  artists  who  supplied  the  designs  did  not  watch 


ENGRAVING    IN    GERMANY.  14:5 

their  engravers  enough,  and  the  work  produced  did 
not  do  justice  to  the  originals.  Ugliness  and  deform- 
ity were  carried  to  extremes  by  these  early  engravers  ; 
their  sole  merit  indeed  was  their  skill  in  carving  wood. 
The  "  Bible  "  of  Koburger  contains  eighty-six  cuts 
of  better  execution  than  most  of  the  early  engrav- 
ings ;  they  are  not  now  thought  much  of,  although 
some  were  honored  by  being  copied  for  Holbein's 
Bible,  and  Albert  Diirer  borrowed  from  them  for  his 
apocalyptic  designs.  In  the  stunted  figures  and  the 
stiff  heavy  folds  of  drapery  we  recognize  productions 
of  the  German  school  ;  but  we  are  not,  therefore, 
justified  in  considering  all  these  engravings  to  be  by 
Michael  Wolgemuth  and  Wilhelm  Pleydenwurff,  t<5 
whom  they  are  attributed  by  the  printer,  Koburger, 
in  his  preface.  Their  styles  are  too  diverse  and  their 
merits  too  unequal  to  stamp  them  as  the  work  of  two 
artists  only.  Wolgemuth  and  Pleydenwurff  may  have 
superintended  them,  or  even  have  executed  some  of 
the  more  important  plates,  but  many  are  unworthy 
in  every  respect  of  artists  whose  other  works  have 
obtained  for  their  authors  something  closely  resem- 
bling celebrity. 

Michael  Wolgemuth  was  Albert  Diirer's  master, 
and  the  glory  of  the  pupil  is  reflected  on  the  teacher. 
In  these  days  of  universal  skepticism,  people  are  un- 
tiling to  consider  Albert  Diirer  a  wood-engraver ; 
they  attribute  to  artists  working  under  his  supervision 
the  splendid  engravings  of  the  "Apocalypse,"  and 
those  of  the  "  Life  of  the  Virgin,"  and  the  greater 


146  WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 

number  are  said  to  be  by  Jeremiah  Resell,  a  wood- 
carver  and  medallist.  Such,  at  least,  is  the  opinion 
of  a  historian  of  Nuremberg.  We  must  needs  bow 
to  the  decision  of  a  man  whose  knowledge  cannot  be 
denied  ;  but  we  hardly  like  to  exclude  these  masterly 
eiiirravinffs  from  the  list  of  Albert  Diirer's  works.  If 

O  O 

he  did  not  himself  engrave  the  plates  he  must  have 
watched  over  the  artists  to  whom  he  entrusted  them 
with  untiring  solicitude,  for  they  never  worked  bet- 
ter than  when  interpreting  the  designs  of  Germany's 
greatest  painter. 

Lucas  Cranach,  born  in  Saxony  about  the  same 
time  as  Albert  Diirer,  was  not  uninfluenced  by  the 
'example  of  his  contemporary.  His  style,  however, 
is  very  different ;  he  cared  less  for  beauty  and  linish 
than  the  master  of  Nuremberg.  The  engravers  he 
emploj'ed — for  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  he  himself 
used  the  graving-tool — worked  in  a  more  picturesque 
though  less  correct  style  than  those  who  followed 
Diirer,  and  the  beauty  of  the  designs  at  which  they 
worked  were  also  of  a  less  exalted  type.  Lucas 
Cranach  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Luther,  and  en- 
thusiastically adopted  the  principles  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. He  painted  portraits  of  Luther  and  his  wife, 
of  Melanchthon,  and  Frederick  the  Wise  ;  he  placed 
his  talent  at  the  service  of  the  new  religion,  and 
illustrated  with  engravings  the  outspoken  pamphlets 
of  the  Reformer.  In  his  works  we  meet  with  many 
attacks  on  the  papacy.  He  was  full  of  zeal  for  the 
new  religion,  and  his  crude  way  of  treating  Biblical 


ENGRAVING   IN    GERMANY;  147 

subjects  proves  how  prejudiced  he  was,  and  that  art 
was  not  his  only  occupation.  The  wood-engravers 
who  reproduced  his  designs  aimed  at  an  exact  copy, 
they  avoided  cross-hatchings,  and  simplified  their 
work  as  much,  as  possible;  indeed  they  sacrificed  most 
unselfishly  their  own  originality  to  that  of  their 
master. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth,  century  a  new 
impulse  was  given  to  wood-engraving.  The  Emperor 
Maximilian  entrusted  to  the  best  artists  of  Germany 
four  works  which  were  to  immortalize  his  glory,  and 
in  the  composition  of  which  lie  himself  took  a  part. 
"  The  Wise  King  "  ("  Der  "Weisse  Kcenig  ")  contains 
a  number  of  wood-cuts  designed  by  Hans  Burgmair, 
and  engraved  by  several  artists  of  different  ability. 
The  "  Theuerdanck,"  a  moral  and  allegorical  poem 
by  the  Emperor  Maximilian  and  his  secretary,  Mel- 
on i  or  Pfintzing,  is  illustrated  by  engravings,  the  de- 
signs of  which  are  attributed  to  Hans  Schauflein. 
The  most  important  of  these  works,  and  that  which 
most  contributed  to  the  sovereign's  glory,  was  almost 
entirely  confided  to  Hans  Burgmair,  who  proved  him- 
self worthy  of  his  great  commission.  To  him  we  are 
also  indebted  for  the  male  and  female  "  Saints  of  the 
Imperial  Family,"  which  are  equal  in  beauty  and  im- 
portance to  the  engravings  mentioned  above.  The 
death  of  Maximilian  interrupted  these  noble  works, 
various  difficulties  prevented  their  immediate  publica- 
tion, and  for  many  years  only  rare  specimens  were 
known  of  the  "  Triumph  of  Maximilian,"  and  of  the 


148  WONDEKS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

"  Saints  of  the  Imperial  Family."  Later,  a  lucky 
accident  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  original  blocks, 
which  had  happily  not  been  entirely  destroyed  by 
worms.  This  discovery  was  followed  by  another.  At 
the  back  of  the  original  engravings  the  names  of  the 
engravers  were  found.  This  was  most  fortunate. 
Thanks  to  these  inscriptions,  we  can  name  the  skil- 
ful artists  who  interpreted  the  designs  of  the  mas- 
ters employed  by  Maximilian.  They  were  Jeremiah 
Resch,  Jan  of  Bonn,  Cornelius  Liefrinck,  Wilhelm 
Liefrinck,  Alexis  Lindt,  Josse  of  Negker,  Vincent 
Pfarkecher,  James  Rupp,  Jan  Taberith,  Hans  Franck, 
and  Saint-German.  These  well-authenticated  names 
of  engravers  of  the  sixteenth  century  are  of  assist- 
ance even  now  in  the  deciphering  of  monograms,  and 
they  throw  a  light  on  the  eventful  history  of  the  ori- 
gin of  engraving  in  Germany. 

Hans  Baldung  Grun  was  born  in  Swabia  in  1475, 
and  died  at  Strasburg  in  1552.  He  worked  under 
Albert  Durer.  Jackson  tells  us,  in  his  "  Treatise  on 
Wood-Engraving,"  that  the  pupil's  reverence  for  his 
master  was  so  great  that  he  preserved  a  lock  of 
Diirer's  hair  as  a  precious  relic  all  his  life.  This  re- 
spect was  still  more  evident  in  the  designs  he  caused 
to  be  engraved.  His  style  much  resembled  Diirer's, 
but  it  was  exaggerated  ;  and  Grim  seems  to  have  had 
an  unfortunate  affection  for  ugliness  when  left  to  his 
own  devices ;  he  invented  stunted  figures,  grinning 
heads,  and  unnatural  movements,  which  were  only 
too  literally  rendered  by  his  engravers.  Baldung 


ENGRAVING    IN    GERMANY. 

Grim  was  a  painter  and  a  designer,  but  his  pictures 
are  not  now  highly  valued,  although  his  master 
thought  well  enough  of  them  to  offer  one  to  Joachim 
Patenier.  They  are  confounded  at  present  amongst 
the  innumerable  anonymous  paintings  brought  to 
light  by  the  researches  of  enthusiasts. 

Hans  Ulrich  Yaechtlein,  also  known  by  the  name 
of  the  "  Master  of  the  Crossed  Staves,"  or  of  the 
<l  Pilgrim,"  worked  about  the  same  time  as  Bald  on  g 
Grim.  The  date  of  his  birth  is  unknown,  but  M. 
Loedel,  who  has  devoted  much  study  to  this  artist, 
thinks  his  life  was  spent  at  Strasburg.  A  skilful  and 
well-improved  artist,  he  is  in  Germany  considered  the 
inventor  of  engraving  en  camdieu.  His  valuable  and 
rare  plates  are  remarkable  for  the  skill  of  their  exe- 
cution, and  for  an  exactness  of  design  which  is  less 
exclusively  Teutonic  in  style  than  that  of  most  of  his 
contemporaries.  Eleven  of  his  works  are  known 
which  show  that  he  was  not  indifferent  to  Albert 
Diirer's  works,  but  they  are  famous  rather  for  clever- 
ness of  style  than  for  inventive  power. 

We  have  not  nearly  exhausted  the  list  of  German 
wood-engravers.  In  addition  to  anonymous  artists, 
and  those  known  only  by  their  monograms,  there  are 
many  who  merit  notice.  It  is  true  that  among  those 
we  are  about  to  name,  Jost  Amman,  Henry  Alde- 
grever,  Albrecht  Altdorfer,  Hans  Sebald  Beham, 
Yirgilius  Solis,  or  Daniel  Hoffper  did  more  as  cop- 
perplate than  as  wood-  engravers,  and,  as  we  shall 
have  to  allude  to  them  later,  we  will  now  close  our 


150  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

notice  of  German  wood-engravers.  We  must,  how 
ever,  pause  for  one  moment  at  Bale,  where  a  great 
master  was  born,  and  where  also  numerous  very 
clever  wood-engravers  exercised  their  craft. 

Urs  Graf,  who  worked  at  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  died  at  Bale  in  1530.  He  designed 
a  great  number  of  vignettes  for  wood-engravers  which 
were  of  no  great  imagination  or  refinement.  He  was 
slightly  influenced  by  Martin  Schongauer,  whose 
school  he  attended  for  a  time,  but  he  did  not  care 
enough  for  grandeur  of  style,  and  always  copied  that 
master's  feeblest  works.  He  is  almost  the  only  known 
artist  of  the  numbers  who  were  born  at  Bale  and 
published  their  works  in  that  city,  but  he  took  no 
part  in  the  revival  of  art  which  was  going  on  under 
his  eyes,  and  which  was,  so  to  speak,  completed  by 
Hans  Holbein  the  younger. 

It  is  generally  believed  that  Hans  Holbein  was 
born  at  Bale  about  1498.  He  was  fortunate  enough 
to  have  a  wood-engraver  beside  him  who  reproduced 
almost  all  his  works,  and  spread  abroad  his  fame. 
Both  as  a  painter  and  designer  Holbein  has  left  a 
great  name.  For  a  long  time  the  numerous  engrav- 
ings on  title-pages,  head-lines,  and  tail-pieces  in  books 
printed  at  Bale  were  supposed  to  have  been  designed 
and  engraved  by  Hans  Holbein.  A  monogram  of 
"  H.  L."  somewhat  puzzled  the  critics,  but  it  would 
have  been  passed  over  had  not  an  unexpected  circum- 
stance revealed  to  the  clear-sighted  an  alphabet  gen- 
erally attributed  to  Holbein,  with  this  remark  accom- 


ENGRAVING    IN    GERMANY. 


151 


panying  it :  "  Hans  Lutzelburger,  Formschneider, 
genant  Franck,"  which  gave  the  honor  which  was  his 
due  to  Hans  Lutzelburger,  the  real  author.  Although 
this  artist  succeeded  better  with  Holbein's  designs 
than  any  others,  lie  did  not  confine  himself  to  them. 
He  was  called  by  the  Abbe  Zani  "  the  prince  of  wood- 
engravers."  Mariette,  so  good  a  judge  of  engraving, 


Fig.  15.— Engraved  from  Holbein's  Dance  of  Death,  by  II.  LUTZELBURGKH. 

says,  in  his  manuscript  notes,  that  it  is  impossible  to 
admire  sufficiently  the  delicacy  of  his  work  and  the 
fineness  and  spirit  of  his  touch.  "  I  think,"  he  «.°V8, 
"  that  Holbein's  designs,  which  were  not  too  well  fin- 


152  WONDKRB   OF    ENGRAVING. 

islied,  needed  the  completeness  given  to  them  by  this 
artist,  who  deserves  the  esteem  in  which  he  is  held 
by  the  publisher  of  Lyons.  His  name,  which  de- 
serves to  be  transmitted  to  posterity,  remains  in  obliv- 
ion, but  his  initials,  H.  L.,  are  seen  on  the  lower  part 
of  a  bed  on  which  reclines  a  young  woman  at  the 
point  of  death."  This  name,  unknown  to  the  scholar 
Mariette,  is  no  longer  a  mystery.  Hans  Lutzelburger 
is  certainly  the  author  of  the  "  Dance  of  Death  " 
(1538),  and  of  "The  Old  and  New  Testament" 
("  Icones  Historiarum  Veteris  Testament!  "  ;  Lyons ; 
Jean  Frellon  ;  1547).  His  powerful  and  facile  graver 
rendered  these  compositions  by  Holbein  with  extreme 
delicacy.  They  are  small  if  the  size  be  measured, 
but  large  and  grand  in  conception  and  thought.  Cer- 
tain of  his  subjects  which  might  be  contained  within 
the  surface  of  a  die,  if  executed  on  a  large  scale, 
would  lose  nothing  of  their  merit,  so  well  balanced 
is  the  general  composition,  so  careful  and  accurate 
the  design  of  the  figures.  The  talent  of  Lutzelburger 
was  shown  in  the  power  with  which  he  interpreted 
the  master's  designs  on  wood  in  a  very  limited  space 
by  means  of  the  skilful  disposition  of  his  strokes. 
Many  other  artists  reproduced  Holbein's  works,  but 
none  whose  works  we  have  seen,  with  the  success  of 
Lutzelburger ;  their  style  is  heavy  and  exaggerated, 
and  they  missed  the  power  and  life  of  the  master's 
compositions. 

Engraving  on  Metal. — If,  since  the  Abbe  Zani's 
discovery,  Germany's  pretensions  to  the  invention  of 


Fig.  16.    Samson  and  the  Lion.    Engraving  of  tha  MASTER  of  1466. 


ENGRAVING  IX  GERMANY.  155 

engraving  on  metal  have  been  overthrown,  we  must 
not  deny  the  part  the  Germans  took  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  this  art  because  we  refuse  to  consider  them  its 
inventors.  About  the  same  time  that  great  works  of 
art  appeared  at  Florence,  in  1452,  a  number  of  en- 
gravings were  published  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Rhine.  Many  of  the  anonymous  plates  brought  out 
by  the  German  school  appear,  by  the  roughness  of 
the  drawing  and  imperfectness  of  execution,  to  be  of 
a  very  ancient  date.  After  examining  these  speci- 
mens of  an  art  in  its  infancy  we  do  not  hesitate  to 
assert,  though  we  can  give  no  formal  reasons,  that  the 
means  of  taking  impressions  on  paper  from  engraver" 
metal  was  discovered  simultaneously  in  Italy  and 
Germany.  Italy,  as  having  produced  the  first  work 
of  genius  by  means  of  Maso  Finiguerra,  must  take 
the  precedence  ;  but  Germany  followed  closely  in  her 
steps,  and  soon  gave  birth  to  an  artist  of  great  talent, 
whose  name,  alas,  is  unknown.  He  is  generally  called 
the  "  Master  of  1466."  Amongst  the  many  anony- 
mous artists  who  preceded  this  engraver,  M.  Duchesn^ 
considers  the  "  Master  of  the  Streamers  "  to  be  the 
author  of  a  few  plates  which,  though  roughly  drawn, 
are  engraved  in  a  peculiar  manner,  and  much  sought 
for  on  account  of  their  archaic  style.  The  figures  in 
this  unknown  artist's  works  are  covered  with  imper- 
ceptible strokes  which  appear  to  have  been  obtained 
with  a  pointed  instrument,  and  not  with  a  cutting 
one.  The  metal  must  have  been  very  soft ;  it  is  rath- 
er fretted  than  hollowed  out.  It  does  not  appear  to 


156  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

have  been  printed  from  ;  indeed,  neither  the  metal 
nor  the  small  quantity  of  ink  spread  upon  it  could 
have  borne  much  pressure.  There  is  one  important 
fact  in  favor  of  our  opinion  that  impressions  were  ob- 
tained by  friction ;  there  are  no  marks  made  by  the 
plate  in  any  part  of  these  engravings,  and  we  have 
seen  some  of  the  proofs  by  this  anonymous  artist 
which  are  in  a  sufficiently  perfect  condition  to  have 
shown  the  marks  of  the  edges  of  the  metal  had  they 
undergone  much  pressure.  From  this  we  may  con- 
clude that  the  "  Master  of  the  Streamers  "  (so  named 
on  account  of  the  ribbons  covered  with  legends  on  all 
liis  figures)  did  not  know  all  the  resources  of  his  art, 
and  may.  therefore,  be  considered  one  of  the  earliest 
engravers  of  the  German  school. 

Another  anonymous  artist  whose  engravings,  sign- 
ed E.  S.,  with  the  date  1466  and  1467,  are  very  nu- 
merous, is  justly  called  a  Master.  He  was  wonder 
fully  expert  with  the  graver,  and  although  the  draw- 
ing of  his  varied  and  well-conceived  compositions  is 
not  always  correct,  it  is  easy  and  expressive.  "  The 
"Adoration  of  the  Magi"  forcibly  reminds  us  of  one 
of  the  justly  admired  miniatures  of  the  preceding 
century.  The  "  Master  of  1466  "  made  the  limbs  of 
his  figures  too  attenuated  and  thin,  but  when  he  had 
to  design  a  piece  of  jewelry,  a  paten,  or  a  branch  of 
ornamental  foliage,  he  was  in  his  element  and  pro- 
duced tasteful  and  graceful  compositions.  He  was  a 
thoroughly  Gothic  artist — his  ideal  of  beauty  was 
different  from  ours,  different  from  that  of  the  early 


ENGRAVING  IN  GERMANY.  157 

Italians  ;  with  him  grandeur  of  form  and  design  were 
secondary  to  justice  of  expression  and  simplicity  of 
feeling.  In  this  he  resembled  the  extraordinary  art- 
ists too  long  depreciated,  who  built  Strasburg  Cathe- 
dral, and  other  superb  monuments  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  Like  them,  he  understood  the  disposition  of 
ornament,  and  he  treated  the  human  figure  with  a 
simplicity  not  without  majesty.  The  heads,  it  is  true, 
are  too  large,  the  hands  and  feet  too  small,  the  folds 
of  drapery  too  irregular,  recalling  the  wood-carvings 
of  his  predecessors  ;  but  art  requires  something  more 
than  a  literal  representation  of  reality,  she  requires 
to  give  expression  to  an  idea,  to  a  sentiment,  and  from 
this  point  of  view  the  "  Master  of  1466  "  deserves  all 
praise,  for  he  was  the  first  German  engraver  who  de- 
voted his  talent  to  rendering  feeling  and  expression. 

Martin  Schongauer  almost  immediately  followed 
the  "  Master  of  1466."  He  may  be  considered  the 
father  of  the  German  school,  so  great  was  his  influ- 
ence over  it.  He  is  now  j  ustly  famous ;  but  after 
being  honored  in  his  own  age  to  such  an  extent,  that 
unscrupulous  publishers  did  not  hesitate  to  place  hi& 
name  under  works  by  others  to  enhance  their  value 
in  the  eyes  of  inexperienced  amateurs.  He  was 
classed  during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centu- 
ries, with  all  his  contemporaries,  amongst  those  Gothic 
artists  in  whom  even  well-informed  historians  recog- 
nized no  talent.  To  this  unfortunate  injustice  is  due 
the  loss  of  many  paintings,  which,  not  being  sought 
fur,  as  their  merits  deserved,  were  damaged  or  de- 


158  WONDEKS    OF    ENGKAV1NG. 

stroyed.  And  when  at  last  modern  Criticism,  with 
better  judgment,  turned  to  these  leading  masters,  she 
was  in  a  dilemma,  for  the  long-despised  authentic 
specimens  of  early  art,  and  important  documents  re- 
lating to  their  authors,  had  disappeared ;  so  that  we 
do  not  even  know  when  and  where  Martin  Schongau- 
er  was  born. 

Aided  by  some  signed  and  dated  works,  we  think 
we  may  consider  1420  about  the  time  of  his  birth. 
His  family,  natives  of  Strasburg,  say  he  was  born 
there ;  some  authors,  finding  traces  of  his  living  at 
Ulm,  call  that  his  birthplace  ;  but  the  greater  num- 
ber agree  in  saying  that  he  first  saw  the  light  at  Col- 
mar.  He  certainly  lived  there  for  a  long  time,  and 
produced  many  paintings  in  the  latter  town ;  and  he 
died  on  the  day  of  the  Purification,  1488,  as  proved 
by  the  certificate  of  burial  in  the  registers  of  the  par- 
ish of  St.  Martin  of  Colmar,  a  facsimile  of  which  has 
been  recently  published.  Although  we  cannot  write 
the  biography  of  Martin  Schongauer,  his  authentic 
engravings  enable  us  justly  to  appreciate  his  genius. 
He  evidently  knew  and  was  influenced  by  the  engrav- 
ings of  the  "  Master  of  1466,"  but  he  was  a  more 
skilful  designer,  and  although  the  limbs  of  many  of 
his  figures  are  out  of  proportion,  some  of  the  extrem- 
ities being  too  small,  and  in  others  enormous  feet  sup- 
porting small  bodies,  he  invented  and  engraved  some 
very  different  compositions.  One  justly  celebrated 
engraving,  "  The  Bearing  of  the  Cross,"  was  honored 
by  Raphael's  notice,  and  considered  worthy  of  study 


EXGKAVING  IN  GEEMANY. 


159 


by  him.  *•'  The  Temptation  of  St.  Anthony,"  copied, 
according  to  an  old  tradition,  by  Michael  Angelo, 
and  "  The  Conversion  of  St.  Paul,"  are  works  unri- 


Fig  17.— Tie  Infant  Jesus.    Engraved  by  MARTIN  SCHOXGATTER. 

vailed  by  any  of  the  German  school.  Besides  these 
justly  famous  engravings,  Martin  Schongauer  pro- 
duced several  excellent  compositions.  The  face  of  the 
Virgin  in  his  "  Annunciation,"  a  work  of  small  diinen- 


160  WONDERS    OF   ENGRAVING. 

sions,  wears  a  sweet  and  tender  expression  which  is 
almost  beautiful,  and  there  is  a  grace  about  the  head 
of  the  celestial  messenger,  reminding  us  of  the  Milan- 
ese school.  In  the  u  Flight  into  Egypt,"  Martin 
Schongauer's  best  work,  as  we  think,  the  Virgin 
clasping  the  divine  infant  in  her  arms,  is  passing,  rid- 
ing on  an  ass,  beneath  a  palm-tree  covered  with  an- 
gels, and  St.  Joseph  is  gathering  some  dates  from  the 
tree.  This  ingenious  composition  is  remarkable  for 
the  evident  joy  with  which,  the  Virgin  embraces  her 
Son,  rescued  from  the  wrath  of  Herod  and  adored  by 
angels.  It  was  in  such  touching  subjects  that  all  the 
Gothic  artists  excelled.  They  had  faith,  and  their 
faith  determined,  enlightened,  and  ennobled  their 
ambition.  How  many  works  bear  charming  witness 
to  this  !  We  might  name  many  engravings  by  Schon- 
gauer,  as  remarkable  for  feeling  as  for  successful  exe- 
cution :  "  The  Death  of  the  Virgin,"  "  The  Wise  and 
Foolish  Virgins,"  "  The  Symbols  of  the  Four  Evan- 
gelists," u  Jesus  Christ  crowning  the  Virgin,"  and 
others,  are  works  of  high  excellence.  In  them  all  the 
artist's  power  of  invention,  his  knowledge  of  drawing 
and  skill  in  engraving,  are  clearly  manifested. 

But  the  great  German  artist  did  not  devote  him- 
self entirely  to  exalted  subjects,  he  also  engraved  some 
homely  scenes,  such  as  the  "  Departure  for  the  Mar- 
ket," known  up  to  the  17th  century  as  the  "  Uylen- 
spiegel,"  because  it  was  like  an  engraving  of  that 
name  by  Lucas  of  Leyden,  and  "  The  Peasants  "  play- 
ing or  wrestling  together.  He  gave  brilliant  proof 


ENGBAVING  IN  GEKMANY.  161 

also  of  liis  powers  as  an  inventor,  arid  engraver  in 
design  for  jewelry  or  ornaments.  It  is  the  glory  of 
Schongauer,  that  surrounded  as  he  was  by  artists  ab- 
sorbed in  their  love  of  literal  truth,  he  was  able,  in 
his  artistic  compositions,  to  realize  an  ideal  beauty  of 
a  noble  and  elevated  order.  His  right  to  the  title  of 
"  Master  of  German  Art "  is  indisputable.  His 
works  were  admired  by  his  successors,  and  influenced 
them  strongly  even  when  they  were  not  actually  copy- 
ing them. 

We  consider  that  the  artists  who  carue  after  Mar- 
tin Schongauer  enjoy  greater  renown  than  they  de- 
serve. Albert  Glockenton  has  merely  coarsely  and 
inadequately  reproduced  the  master's  engravings,  rob- 
bing them  of  their  exquisite  simplicity  and  their 
graceful  charm.  He  also  executed  a  few  plates  from 
designs  of  his  own,  but  they  are  without  originality, 
and  although  the  drawing  is  correct  the  engraving  is 
always  harsh.  Israel  Van  Meeken  owes  his  fame 
rather  to  the  quantity  than  the  quality  of  the  engrav- 
ings bearing  his  name.  "We  are  glad  to  suppose  that 
the  author  of  these  plates  was  as  much  a  print-seller 
as  an  artist.  The  style  of  more  than  one  of  these  en- 
gravings is  earlier  than  its  execution,  and  perhaps  the 
plates  being  dimmed  by  the  first  printings,  were  re- 
touched in  Mecken's  studio,  and  there  received  the 
name  they  bear. 

All  the  engravings  which  were  at  all  celebrated  in 
Van  Mecken's  time,  were  copied  in  his  studio.  The 
"  Paten  "  of  the  "  Master  of  1406,"  the  "  Bearing  of 
11 


162  WONDERS    OF   ENGRAVING. 

the  Cross,"  and  the  "  St.  Anthony,"  by  Martin  Schon- 
gauer,  "  The  Three  Graces,"  by  Albert  Diirer,  served 
as  models  to  his  pupils  ;  their  copies,  however,  were  so 
rough  as  to  be  of  little  value,  they  reproduced  neither 
the  masterly  boldness  of  the  drawing,  nor  the  skill  of 
the  original  engravings.  In  default  of  artistic  power, 
we  own,  however,  that  some  of  the  rarer  works  pro- 
duced in  Yan  Mecken's  studio,  are  valuable  on  ac- 
count of  the  interesting  information  they  contain  on 
the  habits  of  life,  and  the  costumes  of  that  period. 
Van  Mecken  was  far  more  successful  with  home  scenes 
than  when  copying  engravings  by  great  masters.  He 
interpreted  nature  and  copied  living  figures  with  un- 
deniable talent,  and  one  well-known  engraving,  "  The 
Concert,"  shows  what  he  could  do  in  this  secondary 
style. 

Franz  Yan  Bocholt,  another  copyist  of  Schongauer, 
spent  his  life  in  inventing  and  engraving  works  wrhich, 
though  they  resembled,  did  not  equal  the  compositions 
of  the  master  he  imitated.  He  shows  real  genius  in 
the  "  Virgin  at  the  Foot  of  the  Cross,"  which  is  his 
best  work.  The  Virgin's  face  is  full  of  genuine  suffer- 
ing, and  the  draperies  are  arranged  with  fair  enough 
taste.  An  artist  called  Mair,  who  signed  his  works  in 
full,  appears  to  have  followed  Israel  Van  Mecken  rather 
than  Martin  Schongauer.  The  engravings  we  know 
signed  by  him  are  of  domestic  scenes  and  costumes, 
more  valuable  to  the  historian  than  to  the  artist.  The 
figures,  in  the  dress  of  the  fifteenth  century,  are  poor, 
and  the  bad  drawing,  partly  disguised  by  the  draperies, 


ENGRAVING  IN  GERMANY.  163 

is  too  evident  in  those  parts  which  are  uncovered. 
Martin  Zugel  also  professed  great  admiration  tor  Van 
Mecken.  He  had  an  incredible  love  of  ugliness,  and 
produced  a  number  of  harsh  and  inferior  engravings, 
which  were  not  all  even  original. 

We  do  not  meet  with  another  true  master  in  Ger- 
many until  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century.  At  that 
time,  however,  an  artist  of  Nuremberg  arose  whose 
influence  nearly  equalled  that  of  Schongauer  and 
whose  fame  is  greater.  Albert  Diirer  was  the  third 
of  eighteen  children.  His  father  established  himself 
as  a  goldsmith  at  Nuremberg  in  1455  ;  he  could  not 
afford  to  give  his  son  a  thorough  education,  but  he 
tried  to  give  him  the  love  of  work.  Albert  Diirer 
learnt  his  father's  trade  and  quickly  surpassed  his 
teachers.  But  as  soon  as  he  was  in  a  position  to  study 
painting  he  left  the  goldsmith  with  whom  he  had  been 
working,  and  entered  the  studio  of  Michael  Wolge- 
muth,  whose  fame  had  already  spread  through  Ger- 
many. Anthony  Koberger,  the  celebrated  printer,  and 
Albert  Diirer's  godfather,  probably  knew  of  this  in- 
tention, for  he  published  his  "  Chronicles  of  Nurem- 
berg "  about  this  time,  and  entrusted  the  supervision 
of  the  engravings  for  this  book  to  "Wolgemuth.  Natu- 
rally, young  Diirer  was  readily  and  kindly  received 
by  his  godfather's  colleague,  and  when  he  had  served 
his  apprenticeship  he  visited  in  succession  the  Low 
Countries  and  the  nortli  of  Italy.  The  route  he  fol- 
lowed is  unknown,  and  we  could  not  speak  positively 
about  this  trip,  but  for  the  evident  proof  of  his  in- 


164  WONDERS    OF    ENGEAVING. 

fluence  in  works  of  the  schools  of  northern  Italy  and 
Flanders  from  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

In  1494  Albert  Diirer  was  summoned  back  to 
Nuremberg  by  his  father,  who  had  arranged  a  mar- 
riage for  him  with  Agnes  Frey,  the  daughter  of  a 
mechanic  of  the  town.  Report  says,  perhaps  with 
exaggeration,  that  this  was  not  a  happy  marriage. 
There  was  certainly  incompatibility  of  temper  between 
Albert  Diirer  and  his  wife.  He  was  open-hearted  and 
generous,  she  was  cold,  selfish,  and  disagreeable.  It 
was  impossible  for  two  such  uncongenial  dispositions 
to  be  happy  together,  and,  therefore,  on  the  death  of 
his  father,  in  1502,  after  providing  for  his  mother  and 
his  brothers,  Hans  and  Andrew,  Diirer  left  his  native 
town,  and  directed  his  steps  towards  Venice,  where  he 
was  most  cordially  welcomed.  He  had  scarcely  ar- 
rived before  he  received  an  order  for  a  painting  for  the 
"  Fondaco  dei  Tedcschi,"  and  Giovanni  Bellini,  anx- 
ious to  know  so  famous  an  artist,  sent  for  him  and 
requested  a  picture,  for  which  lie  was  even  willing  to 
pay,  a  pleasing  announcement  to  Diirer,  who  often 
complains  in  his  letters  of  the  parsimony  of  the  Vene- 
tians. This  visit  to  Venice,  and  his  constant  excur- 
sions to  Bologna,  formed  the  happiest  time  of  his  life. 
Young,  courted,  loaded  with  honors,  alone,  and  free, 
he  forgot  for  a  time  his  petty  domestic  troubles. 

At  last,  however,  he  was  obliged  to  return  to 
Nuremberg,  and,  fortunately,  he  undertook  a  long 
piece  of  work,  which  lessened  his  regret  for  Venice, 
with  its  bright  skies  and  refining  recreations.  Xurern- 


EXGRAVIXG  IN  GERMANY.  165 

berg,  too,  appeared  under  a  more  favorable  aspect  to 
him  now.  His  great  genius,  as  is  often  the  case,  being 
first  recognized  by  strangers,  attracted  the  artists  and 
men  of  note  of  the  city  to  his  house.  His  friendship 
and  society  were  courted  by  the  most  distinguished 
men  of  the  country.  The  Emperor  Maximilian,  a 
great  patron  of  art,  delighted  to  visit  him  and  watch 
him  at  work.  He  showed  the  greatest  regard  for  him, 
and  wrote  and  thanked  both  him  and  his  friend  Perk- 
heimer  for  the  dedication  of  the  beautiful  series  of 
wood-engravings  which  Durer  drew  for  his  "  Tri- 
umph." After  a  long  sojourn  at  Nuremberg,  Albert 
'Durer  was  again  seized  with  a  longing  to  travel.  He 
set  out,  but  this  time  he  took  his  wife  and  servant 
with  him,  and  went  into  the  Low  Countries,  where  he 
had  before  been  so  heartily  received.  He  has  left  a 
journal  of  this  journey,  in  which  he  records  day  by 
day  the  honors  rendered  him,  the  visits  he  received 
and  paid,  the  works  he  produced,  his  expenses,  his 
impressions,  and  the  facts  which  interested  him. 

But  on  a  certain  Friday  in  1521,  the  report  spread 
to  Antwerp  that  Luther  had  been  taken  prisoner,  and 
put  to  death.  Albert  Durer  immediately  wrote  a  true 
profession  of  faith,  and  in  the  form  of  a  prayer  pub- 
lished his  admiration  for  the  bold  Reformer.  This 
enthusiasm  met  with  no  approval  in  the  Catholic 
Netherlands.  The  Archduchess  Margaret,  who  had 
hitherto  shown  great  favor  to  Durer,  became  cold  and 
reserved  towards  him. 

The  news  of  the  artist's  disgrace  quickly  spread, 


166  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

and  the  consequences  to  him  were  disastrous.  People 
shunned  him ;  those  who  had  most  admired  his  talent 
gradually  changed  their  minds,  and  turned  from  him. 
Fully  aware  of  the  sudden  alteration  of  opinion, 
Albert  Dlirer  prepared  to  return  to  his  native  coun- 
try, when  Christian  II.,  King  of  Denmark,  who  had 
just  arrived  at  Antwerp,  gave  him  an  order  for  his 
portrait.  The  painter  undertook  it,  and  for  a  moment 
hoped  for  a  return  to  favor,  but  at  a  dinner  given  by 
the  King  of  Denmark  at  Brussels,  at  which  the  Arch- 
duchess Margaret  and  the  Queen  of  Spain  were  pres- 
ent, the  sovereigns  avoided  taking  the  slightest  notice 
of  him,  and  he  felt  that  there  was  nothing  left  for  him 
to  do  but  to  return  to  Nuremberg. 

A  few  months  after  his  return  he  lost  his  father- 
in-law,  Hans  Frey,  and  two  years  later  his  mother-in- 
law.  Left  alone  with  his  wife,  whose  temper  was  still 
more  soured  by  adversity,  he  endeavored  to  find  in 
work  a  peace  which  his  home  could  not  afford  him. 
But  his  powers  were  inferior  to  his  will.  On  the  6th 
of  April,  1528,  he  expired.  His  funeral  was  magnifi- 
cent. An  epitaph,  composed  by  his  friend  Pirck- 
heimer,  and  engraved  on  a  brass  plate,  at  first  marked 
the  spot  in  the  cemetery  of  St.  John  at  Nuremberg, 
where  Albert  D  rer  reposes.  Later,  two  inscriptions 
were  subs  ited  for  it,  one  in  Latin,  placed  there  by 
the  care  ol  >andrart,  and  the  other  in  German  verse. 
They  are  posterity's  homage  to  the  greatest  artist 
Germany  ev  r  produced. 

Albert  Diirer  owes  his  great  reputation  to  his 


Fie;.  10.—  The  Virgin  aaj  the  Infant  Jesus.     Engraved  by  ALBERT  DUKEB. 


ENGRAVING  IN  GERMANY.  169 

many  paintings,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  human 
figure  shown  in  them  ;  but  his  engravings  are  perhaps 
even  more  admired  than  his  paintings.  Had  Albert 
Diirer  devoted  himself  entirely  to  painting,  we  should 
have  had  to  admire  him  on  trust ;  for  his  pictures, 
little  valued  at  first  on  account  of  the  Gothic  style,  so 
much  disliked  for  two  centuries,  are  now  nearly  all 
lost  or  destroyed,  and  those  which  remain  would  not 
have  justified  his  contemporaries  in  calling  him  a 
master.  Happily,  his  great  genius  ar.d  his  habitual 
tendencies  are  seen  in  the  engravings  he  signed  and 
dated.  Albert  Diirer  cared  more  for  truth  than 
beauty ;  he  drew  a  great  variety  of  objects  with 
scrupulous  fidelity,  and  instead  of  shrinking  from 
human  ugliness,  he  ventured  to  employ  his  marvel- 
lous skill  in  engraving  an  old  woman  with  a  swollen 
body,  clumsy  hands  and  feet,  and  a  hideous  face,  to 
whom  he  gave  the  name  of  "  Nemesis  ;  "  she  is  now 
inappropriately  called  "  La  Grande  Fortune."  Diirer 
had  not  a  true  idea  of  beauty.  He  knew  nothing  of 
the  works  of  antiquity,  and  had  he  studied  them,  it  is 
probable  he  would  have  compromised  his  own  origi- 
nality without  gaining  any  thing  in  exchange.  He 
was  his  own  good  model  for  his  figures  of  Christ. 
The  head  of  the  Son  of  God,  as  interpreted  by  him, 
is  manly  and  full  of  power ;  long  hair  shades  a  face 
betokening  physical  suffering  and  inward  peace ; 
thick  eye-brows  imply  strength  ;  the  lines  of  the  lofty 
forehead  intellect,  the  deep-set  eyes  thought  and  sor- 
row. The  Virgin  is  a  good  mother,  watching  her 


170  UONDEES   OF   ENGRAVING. 

child  with  loving  eyes,  or  pressing  him  tenderly  to 
her  breast ;  sometimes  she  is  more.  She  is  compassed 
about  with  majesty,  and  though  her  features  are  not 
strictly  beautiful,  her  attitude  and  expression  are  full 
of  true  nobility.  In  the  Madonna's  flowing  robes 
Albert  Diirer  shows  his  great  skill  in  arranging  dra- 
peries, and  his  command  of  all  the  mysteries  of  his 
art. 

Albert  Diirer  is  unrivalled  as  an  engraver ;  he 
drew  figures  and  moulded  outlines  with  inimitable 
skill.  With  a  very  fine  graver  he  hollowed  out  the 
metal  with  an  infinite  number  of  lines,  which  are 
admirably  suited  to  his  designs.  His  justly  cele- 
brated original  engravings  show  no  signs  of  fatigue, 
although  they  required  such  slow,  careful,  and  labori- 
ous work.  "  Melancholia  "  (a  design  we  scarcely  un- 
derstand)," The  Horse  of  Death,"  "  The  Nativity,"  "  St. 
Hubert,"  and  several  small  Madonnas,  well  suited  to 
arouse  alike  the  zeal  of  Christian  believers,  and  the 
admiration  of  artists,  are  perhaps  worthy  of  honor, 
rather  on  account  of  the  great  manual  skill  than  the 
inventive  power  displayed  in  them.  Albert  Durer 
excelled  all  goldsmiths  in  carving  metal,  and  all  art- 
ists in  his  skill  as  a  designer,  and  in  his  knowledge  of 
engraving. 

All  Albert  Diirer's  landscapes,  intersected  and 
enlivened  by  rivers  and  full  of  fortified  castles  and 
turreted  houses,  are  engraved  with  a  pleasing  fineness 
of  execution.  It  is  true  that  the  aerial  perspective  is 
not  very  good,  but  the  incorrectness  of  the  relative 


ENGRAVING  IN  GERMANY.  171 

proportions  is  in  a  great  measure  atoned  for  by  the 
delicate  finish  of  the  distances.  Albert  Durer  excelled 
in  every  style.  His  engraved  portraits  show  his  great 
knowledge  of  physiognomy,  his  execution  is  always 
good,  and  his  works  are  excellent  models  for  his  suc- 
cessors, who  have  only  to  yield  to  his  influence  to  be 
successful. 

Albert  Altdorfer  lived  at  Ratisbon  ;  yet  he  was 
entirely  under  the  influence  of  Albert  Durer,  and 
tried  to  imitate  his  style.  He  is  supposed  to  have 
introduced  into  Germany  the  fashion  of  engraving  in 
miniature — a  practice  which  gained  for  the  German 
engravers  who  adopted  it  the  title  of  petits  maitres. 
Following  Diirer's  example,  most  of  these  petits 
maitres  went  to  Italy,  where  they  gained  a  certain 
beauty  of  style  hitherto  unknown  in  their  country. 
Altdorfer,  however,  who  copied  many  of  Marc-Anto- 
nio's engravings,  and  palpably  borrowed  from  them  in 
his  own  compositions,  did  not  gain  any  thing  either 
by  his  reproductions  or  his  thefts.  His  drawing  re- 
mains inferior,  without  character  or  expression  ;  his 
heads  are  ugly,  and  sometimes  grotesque  ;  his  engrav- 
ing, which  is  delicate  and  often  skilful,  is  only  of  real 
interest  when  he  employs  himself  in  goldsmith's 
works  or  ornaments.  These  German  petits  maitres 
were  all  jewellers  ;  and  as  they  always  looked  at 
nature  in  miniature,  it  is  only  as  workers  in  gold  that 
they  repay  study. 

Bartholomew  Beham  felt  the  expediency  of  con- 
fining himself  to  this  kind  of  work,  and  executed  with 


172  WONDERS    OF   ENGKAVING. 

rare  delicacy,  "The  Virgin  Nursing  the  Infant  Jesus," 
"  Cleopatra,"  "  Children  Lying  by  Deaths'  Heads," 
and  twenty  other  engravings,  in  which  the  skilful  and 
careful  work  makes  up  for  some  unfortunate  errors  of 
taste,  which  are  to  be  regretted  in  an  artist  of  talent. 
Two  portraits  of  Charles  Y.  and  Ferdinand  L,  en- 
graved in  1531,  are  Bartholomew  Beham's  principal 
works ;  and  they  are  so  true  to  nature,  that  they  may 
rank  among  the  best  productions  of  the  German 
school.  Hans-Sebald  Beham,  like  his  uncle  and  mas- 
ter, Bartholomew  Beham,  worked  at  Nuremberg.  He 
scrupulously  followed  the  lessons  he  received  ;  and 
his  engravings  differ  so  little  from  those  of  his  master, 
that  it  would  be  difficult  to  distinguish  them  from 
each  other,  but  for  the  initials  beneath  them.  Neither 
of  them  shrank  from  ugliness,  and  both  were  equally 
skilled  in  all  the  resources  of  the  graver,  which  en- 
abled them  to  cut  into  the  copper  with  a  rare  dexter- 
ity. Hans-Sebald  Beham  produced  more  works  than 
his  uncle.  Unfortunately  he  sometimes  exceeded  the 
bounds  of  propriety,  and  some  of  his  engravings 
gained  for  their  author  the  reputation  of  a  debauchee 
and  drunkard,  which  is  contradicted,  however,  by  the 
rest  of  his  works.  Nothing  but  constant  application 
and  hard  work  could  have  enabled  him  to  produce  so 
many  engravings  ;  and  we  cannot  therefore  believe 
that  a  man  who  produced  so  many  works  with  so 
much  patience  and  talent  could  have  passed  his  life  in 
public-houses.  We  will  therefore  erase  from  the  his- 
tory of  art  this  imputation  which  Sandrart  has  cast  on 


ENGRAVING  IX  GERMANY.  173 

Hans-Sebald  Beham  ;  we  prefer  to  consider  him,  what 
he  in  reality  was,  an  earnest  and  hard-working  man, 
who  made  the  mistake  of  sometimes  turning  aside  to 
represent  scenes  which  were  not  condemned  in  his  day 
as  they  are  in  ours. 

James  Binck,  who  was  born  at  Cologne,  and  died 
at  Konigsburg  about  1560,  copied  from  all  the  great 
masters — Marc-Antonio,  Albert  Diirer,  Martin  Schon- 
gauer,  and  Hans-Sebald  Beham  ;  and  succeeded  in 
fairly  imitating  the  style  of  each.  With  Albert  Durer 
and  Marc-Antonio  his  engraving  is  soft,  with  Belmm 
it  is  rather  heavy. 

When  engraving  his  own  original  compositions,  he 
is  scarcely  the  same  artist.  The  close  and  clear-cut 
strokes  of  his  work,  when  he  is  reproducing  copies  by 
the  great  masters,  is  replaced  by  thin  and  widely- 
distanced  lines,  which  scarcely  sufiice  to  mark  the 
outlines.  Binck's  style  of  figures  is  not  so  ugly  as 
that  of  most  of  his  contemporaries.  He  spent  two 
years  in  Italy  (1529  and  1530),  and  was  not  unin- 
fluenced by  the  great  beauty  he  was  able  to  study 
there. 

If  George  Pencz  had  engraved  nothing  but  "  Jesus 
surrounded  by  Little  Children,"  he  would  have  ranked 
high  among  these  petite  mattres.  In  this  well-ar- 
ranged composition  the  mothers  and  children  are 
dressed  in  the  German  style  of  the  sixteenth  century ; 
and  it  is  therefore  not  only  a  really  artistic  work,  but 
also  an  authentic  record  of  the  costumes  of  the  period. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  his  other  numerous  works. 


174  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

His  figures  are  generally  represented  in  the  costume 
of  that  time,  and  this  custom,  which  has  in  our  day 
brought  upon  it  so  much  criticism,  is  more  trust- 
worthy evidence  on  this  vexed  question  than  the  false 
historical  records  in  favor  during  the  following  cen- 
turies. If  Italy  influenced  George  Pencz,  it  w;is 
northern  Italy  ;  Venice  and  her  painters  pleased  him 
better  than  Rome  and  the  pupils  of  Raphael,  and  he 
doubtless  had  Giovanni  Bellini,  Titian,  and  Giorgione 
in  his  mind  when  designing  some  of  the  figures  of  his 
compositions.  It  is  true  that  he  chiefly  looked  at  the 
smaller  and  more  minute  side  of  nature — a  peculiarity 
of  many  goldsmiths  who,  even  when  most  talented, 
diminished  not  only  the  size,  but  also  the  character, 
of  all  they  represented. 

Among  the  best  of  petits  maitrea  who  faintly  re- 
flected Diirer's  style,  Henry  Aldegrever  must  take  a 
place.  He  was  born  in  Westphalia  in  1502,  and  died 
about  1555  ;  he  passed  the  greater  part  of  his  life  at 
Nuremberg  with  Diirer's  engravings  constantly  before 
him.  He  caught  his  style  in  a  great  measure,  especial' 
ly  in  the  pose  of  his  heads.  Aldegrever  tried  every 
style,  but  was  most  successful  when  he  merely  repre- 
sented the  people  of  his  time ;  no  invention  was 
needed  in  them,  and  his  copies  are  admirable ;  he  gets 
rid  of  his  usual  exaggeration,  or  the  undue  length  of 
his  figures  is  disguised  by  the  draperies,  which  do  not 
hang  in  snch  abrupt  folds  as  in  designs  of  his  own 
invention.  He  surpassed  all  competitors  in  the  orna- 
ments and  figures  with  which  he  embellished  the 


Fig.  19  —  G?rman  Costume     H   AT/DEGREVER. 


ENGRAVING    IN    GERMANY.  177 

sheathes  of  knives  and  daggers,  showing  far  more 
skill  and  imaginative  power  in  them  than  in  works 
with  the  human  figure  for  its  principal  object. 

Some  few  artists  practised  etching  at  the  time 
when  line-engraving  was  justly  rising  to  such  distinc- 
tion in  Germany.  Albert  Durer  set  the  example  ;  but 
he  did  not  succeed  so  well  with  it  as  with  his  other 
works.  His  style  and  manner  were  not  much  copied. 
This  mode  of  engraving  seems  not  to  have  suited  the 
Germans ;  they  preferred  a  less  expeditious  process, 
which  would  allow  them  to  mature  their  conceptions 
before  giving  expression  to  them.  The  Hopffers — 
David,  Jerome,  and  Lambert — had  little  taste  for 
drawing,  and  their  etching  shows  but  little  variety. 
It  would  not  be  easy  to  explain  the  esteem  in  which 
their  works  are  held,  for  the  copies  of  their  predeces- 
sors' compositions  are  valueless  on  account  of  their 
inexactitude.  Hans-Sebald  Lautensack  and  Augus- 
tine Hirschvogel,  both  painters  from  Nuremberg,  also 
left  a  number  of  etchings ;  but  they  do  no  more  to 
raise  our  opinion  of  German  etchers  than  those  by  the 
Hopffers.  Although  drawn  with  a  fine  ai  1  incisive 
needle,  these  small  landscapes  by  Lautensack  do  not 
equal  his  portraits  in  line-engraving.  The  latter  are 
remarkable  for  much  character  and  for  the  truth  of 
the  physiognomy  ;  they  even  excel  his  portrait  of 
George  Rockenbach,  which  is  merely  etched.  Neither 
do  Augustine  Hirschvogel's  plates  raise  our  opinion 
of  etching  in  Germany,  although  they  may  be  of  value 
to  collectors  of  curiosities.  It  was  scarcely  worth  while 
12 


178  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

to  notice  these  artists,  as  they  left  no  good  specimens 
of  their  work. 

Line-engraving  declined  when  the  school  founded 
by  Albert  Durer  began  to  lose  its  renown.  The  taste 
for  small  things,  such  as  ornaments  and  jewelry,  sur- 
vived, but  the  art  was  doomed.  It  had  lost  much  that 
it  had  once  possessed  in  the  hands  of  the  skilful  en- 
gravers we  have  named.  The  period  of  originality 
had  gone  by,  and  we  find  none  but  second-rate  artists, 
who  had  lost  their  own  individuality  in  imitating  their 
predecessors. 

Virgilius  Solis  was  born  at  Nuremberg  in  1514, 
and  died  in  the  same  town  in  1570.  Like  \hapetit8 
maitres,  he  attempted  to  perpetuate  the  style  of  his 
predecessors  ;  but  he  was  very  inferior  to  them.  He 
could  scarcely  draw  a  life-like  figure  if  he  did  not 
copy  it.  His  work  is  meagre,  and  without  softness 
or  charm  ;  among  his  numerous  works  a  few  prettily 
decorated  pieces  of  jewelry  are  alone  worthy  of  notice. 
Virgilius  Solis  and  Jost  Amman  engraved  a  series  of 
portraits  of  the  kings  of  France,  which  added  nothing 
to  their  reputation.  Jost  Amman,  who  supplied 
numerous  designs  to  wood-engravers,  has  left  a  num- 
ber of  fine  and  delicate,  but  monotonous,  etchings. 
The  designs  are  small  and  confused.  One  of  Am- 
man's best  works  of  this  kind  is  a  portrait  of  Gaspard 
de  Coligny,  surrounded  with  ornaments  and  small 
scenes  relating  to  his  life.  His  own  wood -engravings, 
and  those  he  caused  to  be  executed  after  his  designs, 
are,  however,  far  superior  to  any  of  his  etchings  ;  and 


ENGRAVING  Es  GERMANY.  179 

the  series  of  costumes  published  in  his  name  show 
little  knowledge,  but  a  varied  and  fertile  imagina- 
tion, and  contribute  more  to  his  fame  than  all  his 
etchings. 

Theodore  de  Bry  also  belongs  to  this  group  of 
late-coming  imitators  of  the  petits  maitres.  He  was 
born  at  Liege  in  1528,  and  established  himself-  at  an 
early  age  at  Frankfurt,  where  he  died  in  1598.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  industrious  artists  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  His  works  prove  his  great  predilection  for 
jewelry.  He  was  aided  in  his  large  publications,  such 
as  "  The  Long  and  Short  Voyages,"  by  his  sons,  espe- 
cially by  John,  who  often  showed  himself  equal  to  his 
father.  But  he  appears  to  us  to  have  succeeded  best 
with  small  subjects  in  which  thousands  of  small  fig- 
ures are  represented,  or  when  he  engraved  ornaments, 
which  betoken  a  decided  style  and  a  vivid  imagina- 
tion. In  this  he  resembled  those  engravers  who  rival- 
led goldsmiths  in  their  delicate  handling  and  love  of 
small  dimensions.  Theodore  de  Bry  closes  the  list  of 
German  engravers  who  worked  in  miniature,  and 
aspired  to  no  style  and  to  no  ideal. 

At  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  German  art 
took  a  new  direction  ;  or,  to  be  more  exact,  it  lost  all 
its  originality.  Native  engravers  were  monopolized 
by  publishers,  who  were  more  anxious  that  they 
should  work  much  than  well.  Matthew  Merian,  the 
author  of  an  immense  number  of  views  of  towns  ;  the 
Kilian  family,  all  engravers  of  portraits ;  Dominic 
Gustos,  a  Fleming  naturalized  at  Augsburg  ;  Martin 


180  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING 

G  renter,  a  great  admirer  of  allegorical  subjects  and 
armorial  bearings ;  the  Ha'ids,  who  employed  mezzo- 
tint engraving  ;  and  many  others,  are  only  worthy  of 
remembrance  in  the  history  of  art  on  account  of  their 
portraits  of  distinguished  persons,  and  their  copies  of 
monuments  and  compositions  which  are  now  destroy- 
ed. Many  of  their  engravings  are  skilfully  executed, 
that  is  all.  The  Germans  of  the  seventeenth  and 


Mulicv    Bafilienfir  .  «ax9' 
Fig.  20.— A  Lady  of  Bale.     VV.  HOLLAR. 


EXGRAVENG    Ef    GERMANY.  181 

eighteenth  centuries  all  yielded  to  the  same  tempta- 
tion, and  thought  too  much  of  tine  strokes.  They 
delighted,  above  all  things,  in  showing  off  their  skill 
of  execution,  and  forgot  that  knowledge  of  drawing 
is  indispensable  to  a  good  engraving. 

Wenceslas  Hollar  was  an  exception  to  this.  In 
his  frequent  and  long  journeys  he  was  able  to  com- 
pare rival  schools,  and  all  his  engravings  are  so  en- 
tirely original  that  not  one  betrays  the  influence  of 
his  master,  Matthew  Merian.  Hollar's  execution  is 
vivid  and  harmonious,  Merian's  cold  and  dull.  The 
pupil  excelled  in  copying  the  human  face,  he  rendered 
admirably  the  transparency  of  glass,  the  brilliancy  of 
metals,  the  hair  or  feathers  of  animals,  and  the  gloss 
of  textile  fabrics.  But  he  required  a  good  model 
before  him,  and  when  he  was  without  one  his  engrav- 
ings were  decidedly  inferior. 

Wendel  Dieterlin,  unlike  Hollar,  who  travelled 
incessantly,  never  left  Alsace.  He  was  not  content 
with  being  a  skilful  architect  and  a  celebrated  painter, 
he  also  published,  in  a  collection  which  is  now  highly 
valued,  a  number  of  specimens  of  decorative  art  of  a 
most  original  style.  Highly  gifted  and  full  of  enthu- 
siasm, he  was  daunted  by  nothing ;  with  admirable 
spirit,  he  invented  forms  of  the  greatest  variety,  and, 
had  he  not  imprudently  introduced  figures  of  ques- 
tionable taste  into  these  ornaments,  he  might  have 
taken  honorable  rank  among  the  architectural  en- 
gravers of  the  Renaissance.  His  adventurous  needle, 
while  remaining  entirely  under  his  control,  went  boldly 


182  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

to  work  on  the  copper,  producing  ingenious  and  facile 
strokes,  and  his  wildest  efforts  were  often  crowned 
with  unexpected  success. 

After  these  artists,  true  art  appears  to  have  be- 
come extinct  in  Germany.  J.-E.  Ridinger,  Ch.  Diet- 
rich, Ch.-B.  Rode  and  Weirotter  were  painters  of  in- 
ferior talent,  who  occasionally  used  the  needle,  but 
with  very  little  success.  Hans-Elias  Ridinger  owes 
the  little  reputation  he  has  rather  to  his  hunting- 
pieces  and  scenes  from  animal  life,  than  to  the  talent 
of  his  engravings.  Dietrich  struggled  hard,  but  with- 
out avail,  to  recall  Raphael's  style,  but  he  did  not 
impose  even  on  the  most  ignorant ;  his  engraving  was 
clumsy,  his  drawing  bad,  and  he  knew  nothing  of 
chiaroscuro.  Christian-Bernard  Rode,  born  at  Berlin 
in  1725,  journeyed  a  great  deal,  but  gained  nothing 
by  his  travels ;  his  engravings  are  pretentious  and 
very  careless ;  there  is  no  real  thought  in  his  pompous 
compositions,  they  have  neither  order,  taste,  nor 
knowledge  of  effect.  The  landscapes  of  Francis 
Edmund  Weirotter  are  of  scarcely  any  interest,  and 
to  complete  our  review  of  engravers  of  the  German 
school  we  must  cross  the  Rhine  and  go  to  Paris, 
where  artists  appear  to  have  assembled  to  learn  from 
French  masters  the  secrets  of  an  art  which  their  own 
country  had  lost. 

John  George  Wille  and  his  friend  George  Frede- 
rick Schmidt  went  to  France  at  an  early  age,  and 
there  began  to  study  engraving.  They  remained  in 
that  country  and  earned  their  living  by  working  with 


ENGRAVING  IN  GERMANY.  183 

the  publisher  Odieuvre.  Wille  soon  out-distanced  his 
competitors  by  his  ease  of  execution.  Hyacinthe 
Rigaud  soon  saw  some  of  his  engravings,  and  at  once 
recognized  their  merits  ;  he  aided  the  young  artist  by 
introducing  him  to  amateurs  and  enabling  him  to 
copy  important  works,  and  the  young  German's  repu- 
tation was  soon  greater  than  that  of  any  French  en- 
graver of  his  time.  Every  distinguished  visitor  to 
Paris  who  cared  at  all  for  art,  solicited  an  introduc- 
tion to  him,  and  each  one  justly  acknowledged  the 
greatness  of  his  genius  and  the  refinement  of  his 
taste ;  for  John  George  Wille  possessed  a  large  collec- 
tion of  art-objects  and  pictures,  and  many  of  the  latter 
are  reproduced  in  his  engravings.  The  chief  beauty 
of  his  best  works  is  their  brilliant  and  careful  execu- 
tion ;  none  knew  better  than  he  how  to  vary  his  work 
to  suit  the  object  represented.  This  perfect  execution 
has  its  drawbacks.  It  gives  the  engraving  a  decidedly 
metallic  appearance,  and  we  are  distracted  by  the 
beauty  of  the  details  when  we  would  fain  admire  the 
work  as  a  whole.  The  artist  thinks  more  of  his  own 
fame  than  that  of  his  model ;  and  in  this  he  has  mis- 
taken his  aim ;  for  should  not  an  engraver  identify 
himself  entirely  with  his  original  and  devote  his  whole 
energy  to  reproducing  faithfully  the  work  of  the  paint- 
er he  has  chosen  ? 

George  Frederick  Schmidt  began  life  with  his 
intimate  friend  and  fellow-countryman  Wille.  They 
came  to  Paris  together,  and  their  early  struggles  were 
the  same.  Schmidt  found  a  friend  in  Nicholas  Lan- 


184  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

cret,  as  Wille  had  in  Hyacinthe  Rigaud.  Schmidt 
was  introduced  to  the  engraver  Larmessin  and  pre- 
pared his  plates  for  him,  employing  his  few  moments 
of  leisure  in  engraving  small  portraits  for  the  pub- 
lisher Odieuvre,  which,  if  they  added  little  to  his 
reputation,  at  least  helped  to  earn  him  a  living.  He 
soon  thought  of  setting  up  for  himself,  and  Hyacinthe 
Rigaud,  who  had  seen  some  of  Schmidt's  works,  again 
proved  his  sagacity  by  entrusting  to  the  young  artist 
a  portrait  of  the  Count  of  Evreux,  whicli  he  had  fin- 
ished. He  was  completely  satisfied  with  the  result. 
This  was  most  fortunate  for  Schmidt,  as  Rigaud,  con- 
vinced of  his  powers,  gave  him,  with  the  prelate's 
consent,  the  portrait  of  St.  Albiu,  Archbishop  of 
Cambray,  to  copy,  and  the  cordial  and  well-deserved 
reception  of  this  beautiful  engraving  completely  estab- 
lished its  author's  fame.  From  this  time  (1742) 
Schmidt  brought  out  engravings  every  year,  all  testi- 
fying to  his  knowledge  and  industry. 

His  style  of  engraving  somewhat  resembled  that 
of  Wille.  He  generally  used  the  graver  only,  and,  in 
addition  to  ease  of  execution,  the  beauty  of  his  pro- 
ductions is  enhanced  by  his  knowledge  of  coloring. 
Sometimes,  unfortunately,  his  cleverness  led  him  also 
astray,  and  he  did  not  copy  with  sufficient  care  the 
painting  he  was  rendering.  He  was  less  successful  in 
etching.  Although  some  of  his  portraits  in  this  style 
fetch  a  high  price  at  sales,  we  cannot  admire  them 
much.  Etching  needs  great  freedom  of  execution  ; 
and  in  this  branch  of  art  Schmidt  did  not  excel.  He 


ENGRAVING  IN  GERMANY.  185 

iseems  to  have  entered  with  his  needle  into  a  hopeless 
competition  with  the  graver. 

In  any  case  J.  G.  Wille  and  G.  Fr.  Schmidt,  who 
went  to  study  French  art,  themselves  greatly  in- 
fluenced it.  Their  fame  exceeded  that  of  their  fellow- 
students.  Bervic,  the  master  of  modern  French  en- 
graving, studied  diligently  under  the  judicious  direc- 
tion of  J.  G.  Wille,  and  afterwards  faithfully  trans- 
mitted to  his  own  pupils  the  lessons  he  had  himself 
received. 

After  these  self-exiled  masters,  Germany  can 
proudly  name  several  artists  who  had  the  restoration 
of  engraving  in  their  native  country  much  at  heart. 
Christian  Frederick  Miiller  gained  well-merited  dis- 
tinction by  his  engraving  after  the  "  Madonna  di  San 
Sisto."  Joseph  Keller  in  his  engraving  after  Ra- 
phael's celebrated  cartoon  of  "  The  Dispute  on  the 
Sacrament,"  and  other  works,  has  shown  his  power  of 
faithfully  rendering  the  grandeur  of  the  most  exalted 
compositions.  Finally  James  Felsing,  who  did  not 
aspire  to  works  of  equal  difficulty,  also  gave  proof  of 
the  practical  skill  he  had  acquired  by  his  studies  of 
the  works  of  his  predecessors. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ENGRAVING   IN    ENGLAND. 

Engraving  on  Wood — W.  Caxton — The  Influence  of  Foreign  Masters 
on  English  Art — Its  Originality  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  and  its 
Influence  on  our  Age. 

IN  England  there  are  schools  both  of  painting  and 
engraving.  They  are  worthy  of  careful  study,  what- 
ever those  may  think  who  have  never  crossed  the 
Channel.  They  were  established  rather  late,  but  are 
now  more  than  a  century  old,  and  in  this  short  time 
they  have  reached  the  same  excellence  as  the  schools 
in  neighboring  countries ;  if  England  has  attracted  to 
her  shores  foreign  masters  such  as  Holbein,  Yandyck, 
Petitot,  Largilliere  and  others,  she  has  profited  by 
their  examples,  and  the  French,  who  were  at  one  time 
aided  in  the  same  manner  by  the  Italians,  should  be 
the  last  to  reproach  her  with  this.  Besides,  in  modern 
times,  the  English  school  has  had  a  great  influence 
upon  the  French,  which  it  would  be  uncandid  to 
deny.  We  allude  to  the  romantic  movement  which 
replaced  the  principles  of  David  (still  followed  by 
some  few  Frenchmen)  by  others  of  a  very  different 
kind.  However,  we  have  now  to  consider  engraving 


ENGRAVING  IN  ENGLAND.  187 

only,  and  we  must  begin  by  stating  that  the  English 
were  at  first  less  enthusiastic  than  the  French  about 
the  new  discovery,  although  they  were  equally  ready 
to  avail  themselves  of  it.  This  coldness  may  be 
accounted  for  by  the  strictness  of  their  religion,  which 
excluded  paintings  from  their  churches  and  engrav- 
ings from  their  prayer-books ;  whereas  the  earliest 
wood-cuts  of  Italy,  Germany,  France,  and  the  Low 
Countries  appeared  in  devotional  works. 

It  is  strange  that  the  earliest  book  printed  by  the 
first  English  printer,  William  Caxton,  is  in  French, 
and  it  is  also  the  first  printed  in  that  language.  Its 
title  is,  "  Cy  commence  le  volume  intitule  le  recueil 
des  hystoires  de  Troyes  compose  par  venerable  homme 
Raoul  le  feure  pretre  chappellain  de  mon  tres-redoubt 
seigneur  Monseigneur  le  due  Philippe  de  Bourgongne 
en  1'an  de  grace  mil  cccc  Ixiiii."  Unfortunately,  in 
England  as  in  other  countries,  engraving  had  at  first 
no  individual  character.  William  Caxton  seldom  il- 
lustrated his  books  with  engravings,  and  when  he  did 
indulge  in  them  he  could  only  employ  awkward  carv- 
ers of  images  ;  and  on  this  account  his  plates  are  of 
no  artistic  value.  The  second  edition  (but  without 
date)  of  the  first  book  printed  in  England  in  1471 
("  The  Game  and  Playe  of  the  Chesse "),  contains 
representations  of  a  player  at  a  chess-board,  a  king, 
two  knights,  and  a  bishop,  but  there  is  nothing  to 
betray  their  origin  or  nationality  except  the  text 
which  surrounds  them.  It  is  the  same  with  another 
book  not  quite  so  rare,  "  Thy  mage,  or  Mirrour  of  the 


188  WONDEKS    OF   ENGRAVING. 

World,"  1481.  The  few  engravings  in  it  represent  a 
professor  teaching  grammar,  or  a  logician  lecturing 
his  pupils  from  his  chair,  they  are  as  devoid  of  art  as 
the  preceding  ones,  a  decisive  proof  of  the  small  skill 
of  the  early  English  engravers.  In  an  edition  of 
^Esop's  Fables  ("  The  Subtyl  Hy  story  es  and  Fables 
of  Esope  ")  published  three  years  later,  in  1484,  by 
Caxton,  we  h'nd  some  engravings  copied  from  preced- 
ing Latin  and  French  editions,  which  would  seem  to 
confirm  our  opinion  of  tlie  inferiority  of  other  nations 
to  ourselves,  if  any  comparison  be  possible  between 
works  of  no  talent  and  possessing  archaeological  in- 
terest only. 

There  were  certainly  many  other  books  containing 
wood-cuts  published  in  England  in  the  fifteenth  and 
sixteenth  centuries,  but  it  would  not  be  worth  while 
to  detain  the  reader  by  mentioning  them.  We  will 
merely  state  that  English  authors  asserted  the  merits 
of  their  own  engravings,  and  took  part  in  the  discus- 
sion on  the  origin  of  the  invention,  emphatically  re- 
pudiating the  claims  of  all  competitors  by  the  asser- 
tion that  engraving  is  not  a  modern  invention  at  all, 
because,  according  to  a  certain  verse  in  Genesis,  Tubal 
Cain  invented  it.*  The  argument  is  original,  but  it 
would  be  waste  of  time  to  refute  it.  Instead  of  going 
so  far  back,  we  will  commence  our  study  when  Eng- 

*  The  text  of  Genesis  upon  which  the  authors  who  fix  2975  B.  c.  as 
about  the  date  of  the  invention  of  engraving  rely,  is  as  follows: — "And 
Zillah,  she  also  bare  Tubal-cain,  an  instructor  of  every  artificer  in  brass 
and  iron  :  and  the  sister  of  Tubal-cain  was  Naamali." — Gen.  iv.  22. 


ENGRAVING  IN  ENGLAND.  189 

lish  engraving  acquired  an  individual  character  and 
\vas  practised  by  men  of  talent. 

We  begin  with  John  Payne,  who  was  born  in 
London  in  1606,  and  died  in  the  same  place  in  1648. 
He  did  not  form  a  school  or  at  once  rise  to  eminence, 
but  his  engravings,  executed  with  the  graver  alone, 
are  superior  to  those  of  his  predecessors.  He  was  a 
pupil  of  Simon  de  Passe,  a  Flemish  artist,  who  spent 
many  years  in  England.  John  Payne  executed, 
somewhat  harshly,  vignettes,  ornaments,  and  por- 
traits, succeeding  better,  like  most  of  his  fellow-coun- 
trymen, with  the  human  face  than  with  any  thing 
else.  William  Faithome  was  born  in  1620,  about  the 
same  time  as  John  Payne,  and  died  in  1691.  He 
raised  engraving  in  England  to  a  high  standard  of 
excellence.  His  biography  is  interesting.  A  pupil 
of  Peack,  an  English  painter,  Faithorne,  like  his 
master,  embraced  the  cause  of  Charles  I.  ;  was  made 
prisoner  on  the  fall  of  that  monarch  and  shut  up  at 
Aldersgate.  He  employed  the  leisure  moments  of 
his  captivity  in  engraving,  and  it  was  in  prison  that 
he  executed  the  portrait  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham. 
The  reputation  of  his  early  works,  and  the  influence 
of  his  friends,  obtained  him  his  liberty.  But  on  leav- 
ing prison  he  refused  to  swear  allegiance  to  Cromwell, 
and  was  therefore  banished  from  his  country.  He 
came  to  France  and  continued  his  studies,  first  with 
Philip  of  Champagne  and  then  with  Robert  Nanteuil, 
whose  lessons  were  of  great  service  to  him.  He  soon 
became  famous,  and  when  events  allowed  of  his  re- 


190  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

turn  to  England  in  1650,  he  was  cordially  welcomed 
by  liis  fellow-country  men  on  account  of  liis  talent- 
Like  his  friend  and  master,  Nanteuil,  lie  drew  por- 
traits in  three  shades  with  perfect  success,  and  they 
soon  became  much  in  vogue.  Fortunately,  he  did  not 
give  up  engraving,  and  he  was  most  apt  in  seizing  the 
expression  of  the  physiognomy,  as  seen  in  the  numer- 
ous engravings  and  drawings  he  has  left.  It  would 
be  impossible  to  excel  his  interesting  and  life-like  por- 
traits. Formed  by  the  lessons  he  received  from  Nan- 
teuil,  and  imbued  with  his  principles,  he  sometimes 
equalled  him,  but  never  imitated  him  so  much  as  to 
lose  his  own  originality.  Nanteuil's  portraits  betoken 
a  profound  knowledge,  and  at  the  same  time,  are  in 
the  self-contained  and  reserved  style  peculiar  to  the 
French  school  ;  whilst  Faithorne's  engravings  after 
Vandyck  or  his  admirers,  or  designed  by  the  artist 
himself,  show  the  influence  which  the  illustrious  pupil 
of  Rubens  exercised  on  the  rising  school,  and  are  re- 
markable for  a  power  of  coloring  to  which  the  French 
engraver  never  aspired.  The  portraits  of  R.  Bay- 
feild,  William  Paston,  William  Sanderson,  and  oth- 
ers, fully  justify  the  esteem  in  which  the  works  of 
William  Faithorne,  surnamed  the  Elder,  are  held. 
His  other  engravings  are  not  equally  clever.  '•  The 
Holy  Family,"  after  Simon  Vouet,  or  "  The  Virgin 
caressing  the  Infant  Jesus,"  after  Laurent  de  la  Hyre, 
which  slightty  recall  the  style  of  Couvay  and  of  ]\Iel- 
lan,  without  all  their  talent,  would  not  alone  entitle 
Faithorne  to  very  high  rank. 


i='.  £1.— Portrait  oi  E.  Bjyfeild.    Engraved  by  WILLIAM  FAITHORNE. 


ENGRAVING  IN  ENGLAND.  193 

Many  artists  endeavored  to  follow  the  manner  of 
"William  Faithorne,  but  not  one  had  sufficient  orisri- 

O 

nality  to  merit  a  place  in  our  review  of  the  English, 
school.  They  were  all  inferior.  Their  fellow-coun- 
trymen had  so  poor  an  opinion  of  them  that  they  sent 
across  the  Channel  whenever  they  wished  to  have  a 
valuable  work  engraved.  Nicolas  Dorigny  was  sent 
for  from  France  to  reproduce  on  copper  Raphael's 
famous  cartoons,  preserved  at  Hampton  Court ;  * 
Baron  copied  the  paintings  of  Kubens  and  Yandyck 
in  English  collections,  and  it  was  not  until  the  eigh- 
teenth century  that  we  find  artists  in  England  suffi- 
ciently skilful  with  the  graver  to  reproduce  the  best 
works  of  art  which  had  accumulated  in  their  country. 

We  must  not  suppose  that  there  were  no  engrav- 
ers in  England  during  this  long  period.  Wenceslas 
Hollar,  a  German  established  in  London,  gave  a 
praiseworthy  impulse  to  etching.  Again,  Prince  Ru- 
pert introduced  into  the  United  Kingdom  the  style 
of  engraving  called  mezzotint  or  the  English  style,  so 
successfully  have  English  artists  adopted  it.  "We 
must  speak  more  particularly  of  these  two  processes 
later,  now  we  are  concerned  merely  with  line-engrav- 
ing and  fre  must  again  allude  to  French  influence. 

Robert  Strange,  born  in  1723,  died  in  London  in 
1T95.  When  quite  young  he  crossed  the  Channel 
and  went  to  stndy  in  Paris  with  Philip  Lebas,  who 
taught  him  the  first  elements  of  engraving.  But 

*  Now  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum. 


194  WONDERS    OF   ENGRAVING. 

Robert  Strange  soon  surpassed  his  master  in  the 
handling  of  his  tools,  and  left  the  studio  in  which  his 
talent  had  been  developed  to  go  to  Italy  and  study 
the  great  masters.  He  spent  five  years  in  that  conn- 
try,  working  with  enthusiasm  at  paintings  by  Raphael, 
Titian,  Correggio,  Guido,  and  Carlo  Maratti.  He  did 
not  return  to  establish  himself  in  London  until  his 
studies  were  so  complete  that  he  imagined  he  had 
nothing  more  to  learn.  Unfortunately  he  overrated 
the  advantages  of  his  ease  of  execution,  and  his  en- 
gravings show  insufficient  knowledge  of  drawing. 
Few  artists  excelled  Strange  in  engraving ;  his  work 
is  pleasing  and  well  shaded,  his  strokes  are  admirably 
managed,  rounding  off  the  outlines  and  crossing  each 
other  without  monotony  or  confusion.  There  are  no 
signs  of  weakness  or  weariness  in  any  engraving  of 
his ;  all  show  thorough  and  profound  knowledge  of 
the  resources  of  his  art.  What  a  pity  that  all  this 
should  be  marred  by  imperfection  of  drawing  !  The 
artist  with  all  his  intelligence  thought  more  of  giving 
the  exact  appearance  of  the  designs  before  him  than 
of  interpreting  their  character  and  style. 

William  Woollett,  also  born  in  England,  and  a 
pupil  of  John  Finney,  directed  his  attention  to  land- 
scape. He  engraved  figures  also,  and  some  important 
compositions,  such  as  "  The  Battle  of  the  Hogue," 
and  the  "  Death  of  General  Wolfe,"  but  he  never 
succeeded  better  than  in  his  reproductions  of  pictures 
by  Claude  Lorraine,  Wilson,  or  Pillement.  The 
beautiful  gradations  and  fine  proportions  of  his  plates 


ENGRAVING  IN  ENGLAKD.  195 

arc  unsurpassed  ;  no  predecessor  obtained  such  varied 
results  by  the  aid  of  the  graver  alone.  The  distant 
horizons,  lit  up  by  a  last  ray  from  the  setting  sun,  are 
accurately  designed,  and  are  perfectly  distinct  al- 
though so  far  away.  They  diminish  gradually  whilst 
the  trees  and  grass  ot  the  foregrounds  stand  out  in 
bold  relief.  The  latter  are  cut  with  a  very  large 
graver  which  deeply  penetrates  the  copper,  leaving 
large  grooves  far  apart  from  each  other  into  which  the 
ink  is  plentifully  absorbed.  Claude,  whose  works,  as 
is  well  known,  have  always  been  highly  prized  in 
England,  inspired  Woollett's  best  engravings.  The 
engraver  was  irresistibly  attracted  by  the  grand  and 
masterly  disposition  of  the  forms,  the  deep  infinite 
horizons,  and  the  beautiful  scenery  of  the  landscapes, 
and  he  succeeded  in  interpreting  the  great  qualities 
of  the  painter.  Claude  Lorraine  was  never  better 
understood  than  by  "Woollett,  and  he  so  thoroughly 
identified  himself  with  his  model,  that  his  engravings 
are  rivalled  by  none  but  the  superb  etchings  from  the 
great  landscape  painter's  own  hand. 

Francis  Vivares,  though  born  in  France  near 
Montpellier,  may  be  included  in  the  English  school, 
because  he  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  Eng- 
land, and  learnt  his  art  there.  He  rendered  Claude 
Lorraine's  works  with  almost  as  much  skill  as  Wool- 
lett. He  too  confined  himself  almost  entirely  to  land- 
scapes of  a  particular  style  by  Lorraine,  Gaspar  Pous- 
sin,  or  Patel.  His  plastic  style  of  work  admirably 
suited  grand  compositions  such  as  theirs.  The  judi- 


196  WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 

ciously  distributed  light,  affecting  each  object  differ- 
ently, in  which  these  masters  delighted,  is  transmitted 
to  copper  with  remarkable  accuracy.  It  would  ap- 
pear impossible  for  art  to  render  the  sun,  especially 
with  no  resources  at  its  command  but  black  ink  and 
white  paper,  and  yet  his  rays  seem  to  inundate  these 
engravings  by  Yivares.  Like  the  master  from  whom 
he  took  his  inspiration,  the  engraver  thoroughly  un- 
derstood the  laws  of  light  arid  shadow.  A  man  of 
ingenuity  and  resource,  he  arranged  his  shadows  so 
that  those  parts  meant  to  be  in  the  direct  rays  of  the 
sun  were  scarcely  covered  by  light  strokes,  and  by 
being  placed  in  juxtaposition  with  condensed  lines 
were  thrown  up  with  extraordinary  brilliancy  by  the 
shadows  which  surrounded  them. 

William  Wynne  Ryland,  born  in  London  in  1732, 
learnt  engraving  with  Ravenet,  a  French  artist  estab- 
lished in  England.  He  afterwards  went  to  France, 
entered  the  studio  of  Boucher,  where  he  etched  two 
landscapes  after  that  master,  with  some  ability.  He 
then  took  lessons  for  a  time  from  James  Philip  Lebas, 
and  returned  to  his  native  land  after  five  years'  ab- 
sence. Unfortunately,  on  his  return  to  England,  he 
neither  profited  by  what  he  had  learnt  in  France,  nor 
by  the  examples  set  before  him,  but  was  attracted  by 
a  new  style  introduced  by  an  Italian  engraver,  Fran- 
cesco Bartolozzi,  which  consisted  in  imitating  witli 
the  graver  the  effect  produced  on  paper  with  a  pen- 
cil. In  the  hands  of  a  good  draughtsman  this  process 
could,  and  did,  accomplish  much ;  but  Ryland  had 


ENGRAVING   IN   ENGLAND.  197 

not  talent  enough  to  turn  it  to  good  account ;  and 
then  he  generally  worked  at  the  vulgar  creations  of 
Angelica  Kauffmann,  thereby  gradually  losing  the 
position  he  had  gained  by  his  first  works.  An  acci- 
dental circumstance,  however,  suddenly  compelled 
him  to  give  up  engraving.  He  was  accused  of  for- 
gery, tried,  convicted,  and  condemned,  and  after  that 
liis  name  was  never  heard  again. 

The  list  of  English  line-engravers  is  soon  exhaust- 
ed :  there  remain  two  only,  George  Vertue  and  Abra- 
ham Raimbach,  who  may  be  said  to  have  attained 
any  distinction  in  the  history  of  English  art.  George 
Vertue  excelled  in  reproducing  the  pictures  of  Sir 
Godfrey  Kneller.  His  engraving  is  very  correct, 
almost  monotonously  so  ;  but  the  English  aristocracy 
patronized  him  because  he  was  very  skilful  with 
physiognomy,  and  rendered  most  happily  the  distin- 
guished air  of  lords  and  ladies.  The  Prince  of  Wales 
charged  him  to  make  a  collection  of  engravings  for 
him,  and  Horace  Walpole,  who  stood  high  as  a  man 
of  letters  and  a  politician,  did  not  scorn  to  use  the 
notes  on  English  artists  collected  by  the  engraver. 
In  the  first  edition  of  his  "  Anecdotes  of  Painting," 
published  in  1762,  he  places  his  own  name  after  that 
of  George  Yertue ;  and  at  the  end  of  his  work  he 
has  a  long  note  on  the  English  artist,  in  which  lie 
awards  just  praise  to  the  talent  of  his  fellow-country- 
man. 

Abraham  Raimbach  closes  the  list  of  English  en- 
gravers. He  seemed  born  to  interpret  the  works  of 


198  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

the  painter  Wilkie.  He  lias  reproduced  the  well-con- 
ceived and  spirited  pictures  called  "  Blind  Man's 
Buff,"  "The  Kent-Day,"  and  the  "Tillage  Politi- 
cians "  with  surprising  delicacy  and  skill.  In  spite 
of  their  large  size  these  prints  are  what  are  called 
genre  engravings ;  they  are  prepared  and  nearly  fin- 
ished in  etching,  and  then  almost  entirely  retouched 
with  the  graver  ;  and  as  combined  by  Raimbach,  the 
two  processes  produced  most  pleasing  results.  The 
joyous  or  grave  faces  of  the  children  playing  round 
their  fathers,  or  the  small  tenants  impatiently  waiting 
to  pay  the  money  which  is  due,  are  faithfully  trans- 
ferred to  the  metal.  The  bright  and  pleasing  ap- 
pearance of  the  paintings  is  also  rendered,  and  there 
is  a  general  harmony  about  Raimbach's  engravings 
which  Wilkie's  canvases  have  now  in  some  measure 
lost.  Abraham  Raimbach  is  certainly  worthy  to  rank 
high  among  his  fellow-countrymen  ;  and  in  a  general 
history  of  the  art  of  engraving,  his  works  class  him 
amongst  those  who  best  understood  all  the  resources 
of  their  art,  and  excelled  in  rendering  the  different 
"passions  depicted  in  the  human  countenance. 

Francis  Barlow  deserves  mention  on  account  of 
his  delicate  and  skilful  etchings  of  animals. 

Although  there  were  so  few  clever  line-engravers 
or  etchers  in  England,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  and  at- 
tractive example  of  Wenceslas  Hollar,  Mezzotint  En- 
graving, introduced,  as  we  have  said,  by  Prince 
Rupert,  was  at  once  enthusiastically  adopted  in  that 
country.  It  was  more  successful  in  England  than 


ENGRAVING  IX  ENGLAND.  199 

elsewhere-,  and  its  rapid  triumphs  are  easily  accounted 
for.  The  works  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  of  Gains- 
borough, and  of  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  softly  and 
agreeably  colored,  arid  not  very  strictly  drawn,  were 
well  suited  to  this  kind  of  engraving,  which  allows  of 
vagueness  of  outline  and  great  freedom  of  treatment. 
Anthony  Vandyck's  portraits  taken  in  England  were 
equally  good  subjects.  This  was  at  once  recognized 
by  a  number  of  English  artists.  Not  only  were  there 
more  mezzotint  engravers  in  England  than  elsewhere, 
they  were  also  more  skilful  and  of  readier  invention 
than  any  of  their  foreign  competitors.  We  are  not 
sure  who  founded  this  school  of  engraving,  who  was 
the  first  master,  or  what  influence  he  exercised  over 
his  contemporaries. 

Richard  Earlom,  whose  name  is  perhaps  the  best 
known,  did  not,  like  most  of  his  contemporaries,  ex- 
cel in  portraiture,  he  owes  his  reputation  rather  to  his 
justly  admired  engravings  of  fruit  and  flowers  after 
Van  Huysum,  and  his  "  Bathsheba  leading  Abishag 
to  David"  is  considered  the  chef -d^ceu  ere  of  mezzo- 
tint engraving.  We  ourselves  do  not  admire  his 
works  sufficiently  to  consider  him  the  founder  of  a 
school,  and  we  still  hold  to  our  opinion,  that  English 
artists  treated  portraiture  better  than  historical  or  genre 
paintings.  It  is  easy  to  review  other  English  works 
of  exalted  style,  but  it  would  take  a  long  time  to  enu- 
merate only  the  best  of  the  portrait-painters.  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds,  the  most  celebrated  of  them,  sup- 
plied eager  engravers  with  numerous  subjects,  and  a 


200  WON  DEES   OF   ENGRAVING. 

review  of  his  works  would  introduce  us  to  all  the 
mezzotint  engravers  of  England.  Amongst  so  many 
beautiful  engravings  it  is  difficult  to  know  which  to 
prefer.  J.  fl.  Smith,  in  his  portraits  of  Master  John 
Crewe  and  Lady  Caroline  Montagu,  shows  equal  tal- 
ent to  that  of  V.  Green  in  the  portraits  of  the  Duke 
of  Bedford,  of  W.  Chambers,  or  the  Lady  Caroline 
Howard  ;  and  MacArdell,  J.  Watts,  James  Ward,  J. 
Faber,  J.  and  Thomas  Watson,  E.  Fisher,  John  Dix- 
on,  W.  Dickinson.  G.  Clint,  C.  H.  Hodges,  C.  Turner, 
John  Murphy,  C.  Corbutt,  S.  Paul,  J.  Grozer,  John 
Jones,  J.  Spilsbury,  and  R.  Dunkarton,  engraved 
•with  equal  skill  the  portraits  of  Mrs.  Beaufoy,  Joseph 
Baretti,  Richard  Burke,  the  Duke  of  Devonshire, 
Drummond,  the  Archbishop  of  York,  John  Paterson, 
Garrick,  Lady  Elizabeth  Lee,  the  Duke  of  Leinster, 
Lady  Charles  Spencer,  Robert  Haldane,  John  Lee, 
Yiscount  G.  Maiden  and  Lady  Capel,  the  Duke  of 
Portland,  Mrs.  Chambers,  Viscountess  Spencer,  Lady 
Seaford,  Fox,  Miss  Jacob,  and  Miss  Horneck.  These 
engravings  are  such  exact  imitations  of  the  originals, 
that  Reynolds  must  himself  have  superintended  the 
artists.  None  of  the  engravers,  however,  had  any 
individual  character  to  distinguish  them  from  each 
other.  In  spite  of  the  difference  of  their  educations 
they  all  worked  with  about  equal  skill,  all  were  ac- 
quainted with  the  resources  of  mezzotint,  all  equally 
careful  to  render  the  gradations  of  shade  in  the  works 
they  copied.  Many  used  bistre  instead  of  black  ink, 
as  being  better  suited  to  the  transitions  from  light  to 


ENGRAVING  IN  ENGLAND.  201 

dark,  and  producing  altogether  a  more  harmonious 
effect. 

Godfrey  Kneller,  although  born  at  Lubeck  in 
1648.  and  formed  in  Rembrandt's  school,  must  be  in- 
cluded among  English  painters,  notwithstanding  his 
foreign  origin  and  education.  He  established  him- 
self in  London  when  very  young,  and  never  again 
left  it ;  his  style  of  painting  resembles  that  of  Eng- 
lish artists  more  than  any  other,  and  he  seems  to 
have  forgotten  the  lessons  he  had  received  from  the 
moment  he  set  foot  in  Britain.  Many  line-engravers 
copied  his  paintings,  but  J.  Smith  was  almost  the 
only  one  who  rendered  them  in  mezzotint,  and  in 
return  the  painter  took  the  engraver's  portrait,  which 
he  at  once  transferred  to  copper.  Amongst  the  other 
portraits  engraved  by  J.  Smith  after  Sir  Godfrey 
Ivneller,  the  principal  are  those  of  William  III., 
King  of  England,  the  painter  William  Vandevelde, 
the  Countess  of  Salisbury,  and  John,  Duke  of  Marl- 
borough.  These  engravings  are  exact  copies  of  the 
master's  somewhat  formal  paintings,  but  the  execu- 
tion is  heavy  and  rather  inharmonious. 

Thomas  Gainsborough,  a  charming  painter,  whose 
works  were  deservedly  successful  during  his  life,  had 
not  the  will  or  the  opportunity  to  gather  around  him 
engravers  to  reproduce  his  works.  Yet  mezzotint  is 
peculiarly  well  suited  to  render  the  light  effects  of 
his  paintings  ;  and  portraits  of  the  Prince  of  Wales 
engraved  by  John  Raphael  Smith,  of  Richard  War- 
ren by  John  Jones,  of  the  Earl  of  Derby  by  George 


202  WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 

Keating,  and  of  Henry  Duke  of  Buccleueh  by  J. 
Dixon,  not  only  show  the  talent  of  their  engravers, 
but  also  how  well  mezzotint  could  interpret  the 
brightness  and  freshness  of  these  pictures  which  are 
true  and  grand  representations  of  the  English  aris- 
tocracy. Unfortunately  only  a  few  of  Gainsborough's 
paintings  have  been  engraved,  and  the  very  pretty 
picture  called  "  The  Blue  Boy,"  which  was  so  justly 
admired  in  the  Exhibition  of  1862,  was  not  repro- 
duced by  engravers  in  the  time  of  the  painter.  Sir 
Thomas  Lawrence  was  more  fortunate  ;  he  had  not, 
it  is  true,  many  imitators,  but  he  met  with  one  en- 
graver, Samuel  Cousins,  who  produced  a  fine  master- 
piece after  one  of  his  paintings.  We  allude  to  the 
portrait  of  Pius  VII.,  the  best  mezzotint  engraving 
of  modern  times.  Thoroughly  well-instructed  in  his 
art,  the  engraver  has  preserved  all  the  life  and  gran- 
deur of  the  original ;  he  has  managed  the  light  with 
the  greatest  tact,  and  drawn  the  pontiff.'s  head  with 
a  power  unknown  to  most  of  his  contemporaries. 
Charles  Turner  also  engraved  an  excellent  portrait  of 
William  Pitt  after  Lawrence  ;  and  he  himself,  Eng- 
land's last  great  master,  was  fortunate  enough  to  find 
many  contemporary  artists  who  thoroughly  understood 
his  works,  and  interpreted  them  with  laudable  talent. 
We  have  not  yet  spoken  of  the  humorist  school. 
It  however  gained  great  distinction  in  England  ;  and 
we  intend  to  close  our  study  of  English  engraving 
with  a  notice  of  this  style,  which  is  of  rather  his- 
torical than  artistic  interest,  as  it  borrowed  its  sub- 


ENGRAVING  IN  ENGLAND.  203 

jects  largely  from  literature,  politics,  and  contem- 
porary customs  ;  and  would  lose  much  by  being  con- 
sidered from  a  merely  artistic  point  of  view. 

"\Y  i  Hi  am  Hogarth  is  the  master  of  this  style. 
Born  of  poor  parents,  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  gold- 
smith instead  of  being  sent  to  a  good  master,  who 
could  have  prepared  him  for  a  literary  career.  His 
father  had  struggled  in  vain  all  his  life,  in  spite  of  a 
good  education,  to  attain  a  higher  position  than  that 
of  a  printer's  overseer,  and  his  example  early  showed 
his  son  the  illusory  character  of  a  literary  life.  He 
turned  resolutely  from  literature,  and  this  man,  who 
was  to  inaugurate  a  new  style  of  art,  began  life  by 
chasing  metals,  and  engraving  armorial  bearings,  fig- 
ures, and  arabesques  on  silver,  gold,  or  bronze.  It 
was  thus  he  learnt  the  trade  of  an  engraver.  After 
working  for  some  years  with  a  goldsmith,  he  deter- 
mined to  leave  the  humble  profession  of  a  copyist 
and  devote  himself  to  art  properly  so-called.  He 
studied  nature  with  enthusiasm,  looking  always  at 
the  picturesque  side  of  every  creature  and  of  every 
thing,  and  noting  in  his  memory  or  on  paper  that 
which  struck  his  attention  on  his  rambles.  The 
wretched  life  of  his  parents  had  left  a  tone  of  sad- 
ness on  his  observing  and  inquiring  mind,  which 
made  him  see  the  saddest  and  most  painful  side  of 
humanity.  Thus  his  ideal  was  not  beauty  of  form, 
or  elegance  of  outline,  not  graceful  action  or  noble 
attitude,  but  truth  and  power  of  expression.  Though 
harsh  and  rough  sometimes,  his  work  is  always  full 


204  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

of  energy  and  character.  Fielding  said  of  his  friend 
Hogarth  :  "  The  figures  of  other  painters  breathe, 
those  of  Hogarth  think."  lie  was  right.  Hogarth 
ift  more  of  a  philosopher  than  an  artist.  His  paint- 
ings, often  dull  and  inharmonious,  are  no  doubt  clev- 
erly composed,  and  some  figures  are  really  artistic  ; 
but  the  thought  is  every  thing  ;  the  subject  absorbs 
all  attention  and  interest  at  the  expense  of  the  draw- 
ing and  execution.  "  The  Harlot's  Progress,"  "  The 
Hake's  Progress,"  or  "  Marriage  a  la  Mode,"  are 
really  comedies  in  several  acts,  moral  comedies  in 
which  the  author  does  not  shrink  from  a  coarse  and 
revolting  representation  of  certain  actions,  for  the 
sake  of  teaching  how  terribly  they  are  afterwards 
expiated.  William  Hogarth  did  not  confine  himself 
merely  to  composing  pictures,  he  also  engraved  them, 
a  fortunate  circumstance,  as  his  works  retained  their 
original  style  and  attractions  better  than  they  could 
have  done  in  the  hands  of  other  artists.  His  engrav- 
ings were  nearly  completed  in  etching,  and  then  most 
skilfully  retouched  with  the  graver.  Thinking  above 
all  of  expression,  he  used  the  needle  or  graver  for 
that  purpose  as  readily  as  the  brush,  and  his  engrav- 
ings not  only  possess  all  the  qualities  of  his  pictures, 
but  excel  them  in  their  harmony. 

There  is  a  wide  difference  between  William  Ho- 
garth and  other  English  painters  of  manners  and  ca- 
ricaturists. The  master  is  anxious  about  the  philo- 
sophical side  of  his  work,  and  desirous  of  giving  to 
his  compositions  all  the  value  of  a  moral  lesson,  but 


ENGRAVING  EN  ENGLAND.  207 

the  caricaturists  who  succeeded  him  cared  little  to 
make  their  works  of  general  interest.  If  they  in- 
tended to  ridicule  any  one  they  exaggerated  his  phys- 
ical defects,  or  represented  him  in  rags,  or  wretched 
and  scorned, — that  was  all ;  and  if  they  did  depict  one 
of  the  thousand  miseries  of  life,  they  carried  buffoon- 
ery to  the  greatest  extreme,  the  figures,  the  gesture, 
the  expression,  the  dress,  are  exaggerated  to  such  an 
extent  that  they  do  not  always  provoke  even  a  laugh. 
James  Gillray,  the  most  famous  of  these  carica- 
turists, was  born  at  Lanark,  in  1757 :  like  Hogarth, 
he  began  work  under  a  goldsmith,  but  his  passion  for 
the  theatre  was  so  great,  that  he  quitted  the  studio, 
which  he  had  but  irregularly  attended,  to  join,  a 
strolling  company  of  players.  In  this  new  career,  he 
had  to  endure  mortifications  of  all  kinds.  After  wan- 
dering from  town  to  town  without  meeting  in  any 
with  the  success  he  had  dreamt  of,  he  had  the  good 
sense  to  leave  those  who  had  led  him  astray  and  re- 
turn to  the  paternal  roof.  On  his  return  to  London 
he  went  through  the  course  of  study  at  the  Royal 
Academy,  and  we  are  told  joined  the  studio  of  W. 
Ryland.  He  began  as  a  caricaturist  in  1779  and  de- 
voted himself  to  this  kind  of  work  without  intermis- 
sion. Every  event  of  any  importance  furnished  him 
with  materials  for  caricature,  and  every  conspicuous 
person  had  to  appear  before  Gillray's  tribunal.  When 
at  the  height  of  his  power,  "William  Pitt  is  represent- 
ed playing  at  cup-and-ball  with  the  terrestrial  globe. 
Later,  in  1797,  when  the  minister,  lately  so  powerful, 


208  WONDERS    OF   ENGRAVING. 

could  not  meet  the  rush  upon  the  funds  caused  by  the 
fear  of  invasion,  he  is  drawn  as  King  Midas,  with  an 
ass's  head.  The  Emperor  Napoleon  is  said  to  have 
supplied  the  English  engraver  with  the  subject  of 
many  caricatures.  The  greater  number  are  coarse. 
A  political  caricaturist,  Gillray  placed  his  talent  at 
the  service  of  the  passions  of  the  moment,  and  this 
entitles  him  to  be  considered  one  of  the  artists  who 
contributed  much  to  throwing  light  upon  the  history 
of  England  in  the  reign  of  George  III. 

Thomas  Rowlandson  may  be  classed  with  Gillray, 
although  he  did  not  take  up  exactly  the  same  line. 
He  was  born  a  year  earlier,  in  July,  1756,  and  direct- 
ed his  attention  rather  to  the  manners  of  the  people 
than  to  politics.  The  action  of  his  characters  is  ex- 
cellent, and  he  was  most  successful  in  the  arrangement 
of  a  number  of  figures  in  one  group.  He  used  the 
needle  as  much  as  the  pencil  or  pen  ;  he  engraved 
merely  for  the  sake  of  multiplying  the  grotesque 
scenes  he  invented,  without  caring  at  all  about  the 
process  he  employed  or  to  display  his  own  skill.  His 
chief  aim  was  to  expose  the  absurdities  of  his  con- 
temporaries, and  in  this  he  generally  succeeded. 
Towards  the  close  of  his  life  Thomas  Rowlandson  de- 
signed vignettes  for  books.  The  illustrated  book 
which  gained  him  the  greatest  success  in  England 
was  "  Doctor  Syntax,"  an  account  of  the  innumera- 
ble adventures  of  a  luckless  traveller  pursued  by  mis- 
fortune. The  etchings,  colored  by  hand,  which  ac- 
company the  text  show  the  witty  side  of  Thomas 


ENGRAVING  IN  ENGLAND.  209 

Rowlandson's  talent,  and  may  be  considered  some  of 
his  best  productions.  Rowland  son  squandered  his 
fortune  in  Paris,  partly  at  play.  When  his  resources 
were  all  but  exhausted  he  wisely  determined  to  work 
hard  again.  He  returned  to  London  and  went  through 
the  course  of  study  at  the  Royal  Academy.  But  his 
old  propensities  regained  the  mastery  and  led  him 
into  fresh  follies.  He  needed  the  spur  of  necessity  to 
make  him  work,  and  his  life  was  a  series  of  alterna- 
tions between  want  and  prodigality.  When  old  and 
infirm,  with  faculties  as  much  impaired  by  dissipation 
as  by  age,  he  sank  into  poverty  and  died  on  the  22d 
of  April,  1827. 

George  Cruickshank,  who  was  also  a  caricaturist, 
flourished  soon  after  the  artists  we  have  named.  His 
name  is  attached  to  an  immense  number  of  most 
comic  vignettes.  Although  he  produced  some  few 
good  political  engravings,  he  preferred  scenes  of  man- 
ners which  were  simply  and  avowedly  grotesque. 
He  and  his  brother  Robert  learnt  drawing  with  their 
father,  Isaac  Cruickshank,  and  he  remained  so  long 
under  the  paternal  tuition  that  it  was  quite  late  in  lite 
before  he  signed  his  works.  The  works  of  the  father 
and  the  two  brothers  are  so  much  alike  that  it  is  not 
easy  to  distinguish  them.  George  was  nevertheless 
the  most  talented.  He  may  be  considered  the  chief 
of  the  comic  and  humorist  school  which  still  exists  in 
England.  He  is  now  old  and  works  less  than  he  did ; 

c5 

but  his  influence  is  still  great  over  young  artists,  and 
his  style  is  still  much  in  favor. 


CHAPTER  YIL 

ENGRAVING     IN     FRANCE. 

Engravers  on  Wood — Engravers  on  Metal — The  School  of  Fontaine- 
bleau — Portrait-painters — Nicolas  Poussin  and  Jean  Pesne — Charles 
Lebrun  and  Gerard  Audran — The  School  of  Watteau — Vignette 
Engravers — The  School  of  David. 

FRANCE  has  small  claim  to  the  invention  of  en- 
graving, although  she  did  not  remain  inactive  while 
the  movement  was  taking  place  in  other  countries. 
Several  French  wood-cuts  are  known  to  belong  to  the 
middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  are  in  fact  con- 
temporaneous with  the  earliest  engravings  brought 
out  in  other  countries.  Better  still,  some  playing- 
cards  of  undoubted  antiquity,  as  proved  by  the  em- 
blems on  them,  which  were  in  use  in  certain  reigns 
only,  were  brought  out  in  France  before  the  time  of 
engravings,  properly  so  called;  and  the  barbarous 
style  of  some  prints,  with  a  text  or  legend  in  French 
attached  to  them,  would  furnish  material  for  the  re- 
searches of  modern  learning.  But  it  would  be  use- 
less to  revive  the  question  of  priority  ;  we  will  leave 
it  to  the  archaeologists,  and  only  notice  the  time  when 
French  art  manifested  itself  in  a  decided  and  definite 


ENGRAVING   IN   FRANCE.  211 

manner.  The  first  book  embellished  with  engravings 
appeared  in  France  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  centu- 
ry, but  the  "  Romance  of  Fierabras  "  (Lyons,  1480), 
"  BeKal,  or  the  Consolation  of  the  Poor  Fishers " 
(1484),  and  other  works  with  wood-cuts,  have  a  ficti- 
tious value  only  in  the  eyes  of  amateurs  on  account 
of  their  antiquity,  and  can  scarcely  be  regarded  as 
really  significant  specimens  of  wood-engraving.  In 
fact,  Antoine  Verard's  publications,  "  The  Sea  of  His- 
tories "  (La  Mer  des  Histoires),  amongst  others,  print- 
ed by  Jean  Dupre  in  1491,  are  the  first  works  in 
which  this  art  takes  a  true  position  ;  the  hatching  of 
the  engraving  is  still  coarse  ;  the  ornaments  are  with- 
out delicacy,  and  recall  in  many  points  the  complica- 
ted arabesques  of  French  architectural  monuments  of 
the  fifteenth  century  ;  but  the  invention  is  often  hap- 
py, and  we  see  the  same  love  of  truthful  representa- 
tion in  them  with  which  we  are  familiar  in  earlier 
miniatures.  The  simplicity  of  the  expressions,  the 
life  of  the  figures,  make  up  for  the  want  of  knowl- 
edge of  composition,  and  render  us  indulgent  to  the 
faults  of  drawing,  and  the  imperfections  which  abound 
in  these  early  efforts.  The  "  Dance  of  Death,"  print- 
ed for  the  first  time  in  1485,  by  Antoine  Yerard,  and 
often  reprinted  since,  perhaps  contains  more  interest- 
ing engravings  than  the  "  Sea  of  Histories."  The 
persons  successively  summoned  by  Death,  each  re- 
ceive the  gloomy  messenger  in  a  characteristic  way  ; 
the  face  of  each  has  its  own  individual  expression ; 
the  Pope  prepares  to  follow  the  skeleton  which  draws 


212  WONDERS    OF   ENGRAVING. 

him  to  the  tomb,  with  a  resignation  of  which  the  Em- 
peror is  incapable ;  the  merchant  loaves  his  business 
with  despair  ;  the  usurer  cannot  make  up  his  mind  to 
relinquish  his  treasure ;  the  knight  tries  to  struggle 
with  Death,  who  is  hurrying  him  away  ;  in  fact,  each 
one  is  rendered  in  his  true  character,  and  surely  the 
inventor  of  these  figures  is  worthy  to  be  included 
amongst  the  engravers  who  first  raised  themselves  to 
the  rank  of  artists. 

"When  the  French  became  accustomed  to  engrav- 
ings in  their  histories  and  romances,  which  brought 
the  scenes  recounted  visibly  before  them,  they  wished 
to  have  the  same  thing  in  the  devotional  books  issued 
for  their  edification.  They  were  not  content  with  Ihe 
old  missals  and  prayer-books  ornamented  with  minia- 
tures, as  none  but  rich  men  could  possess  them,  and 
the  invention  of  printing  had  created  a  passion  for 
reading  unknown  before.  Wcod-engraving  found  a 
good  opening  in  these  religious  works,  and  largely 
profited  by  it.  Numbers  of  artists  were  employed  by 
publishers  anxious  to  meet  the  wishes  of  the  public  ; 
and  although  the  names  of  these  men  of  talent  are 
lost,  we  can  enumerate  the  printers  who  employed 
them  and  facilitated  their  efforts.  Antoine  Yerard 
and  Simon  Yostre  occupy  the  first  place  among  these 
printers.  Books  issued  by  them  and  bearing  their 
marks,  contain  small  ornamental  subjects,  which 
frame  the  verses  of  psalms  or  short  prayers,  and  are 
not  always  applicable  to  the  accompanying  text.  The 
artist  has  turned  to  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  and 


ENGRAVING   IN   FRANCE.  213 

sometimes  to  private  life,  for  the  subjects  of  his  orna- 
ments. Occasionally,  by  some  strange  whim,  a  pro- 
fane object,  such  as  a  centaur  drawing  a  bow,  is  intro- 
duced among  sacred  ornaments.  The  composition  is 
as  varied  as  the  invention,  but  the  style  of  the  en- 
gravers is  always  the  same.  The  figures  always  stand 
out  on  a  background  covered  with  stippling,  which  is 
supposed  to  imitate  the  golden  backgrounds  of  minia- 
tures. The  figures  are  disposed  without  affectation, 
the  action  is  simple  and  life-like.  There  is  a  larger 
engraving  at  the  beginning  of  each  service,  which 
generally  represents  a  biblical  subject ;  "  The  Crea- 
tion of  Eve,"  "The  Annunciation,"  "The  Visitation," 
or  "  The  Resurrection."  Although  simplicity  is  their 
chief  merit,  there  is  a  certain  attempt  at  composition 
which  shows,  that  although  still  in  its  infancy,  the  art 
was  gradually  progressing.  Here  and  there  we  can 
detect  foreign  influence  ;  some  engravings  recall  Ger- 
man works,  others  Flemish  figures,  but  the  greater 
number  seem  to  have  taken  their  inspiration  from  the 
French  miniatures,  those  excellent  models  which 
French  engravers  of  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century 
should  never  have  lost  sight  of. 

The  impulse  once  given,  numbers  of  printers 
placed  their  presses  at  the  service  of  the  new  art. 
Philip  Pigouchet  and  Simon  Vostre  together  brought 
out  in  1488  a  "  Book  of  Hours  "  according  to  the 
Church  of  Rome.  Thielman  Kerver  either  borrowed 
or  had  copied  the  engravings  of  the  same  printer  for 
his  books  of  devotion.  Gilles  Hardouin,  with  the 


214  WONDERS    OF   ENGRAVING. 

same  object  in  view,  employed  a  succession  of  artists, 
who  produced  some  interesting  works,  although  they 
were  too  much  influenced  by  German  art.  William 
Eustache,  William  God  art,  and  Francis  Ilegnault,  also 
took  part  in  the  movement,  and  brought  out  curious 
works,  but  their  publications  were  inferior,  as  they 
had  not  such  skilful  artists  at  their  command.  At  last, 
however,  trade  encroached  on  art,  and  the  demand  for 
cheap  editions  led  to  the  production  of  wrorks  by  no 
means  equal  to  the  earlier  ones. 

But,  fortunately,  the  sixteenth  century  was  now 
opening ;  the  movement  known  as  the  "  Renaissance  " 
was  beginning,  and  France,  perhaps,  took  as  active  a 
part  in  it  as  any  other  country.  The  sculptors,  Jean 
Goujon  and  Germain  Pilon  ;  the  architects,  Bullarit, 
Philibert  Delorme,  and  Pierre  Lescot ;  the  painters, 
Jean  Cousin  and  the  Clouets,  had  added  entirely  new 
lustre  to  French  art.  Engraving  did  not  linger  be- 
hind. Guided  by  these  masters,  wood-engravers  in 
their  humbler  sphere  showed  talent  at  least  equal  to 
that  of  their  neighbors.  They  cut  wood  with  the 
same  ease  and  delicacy,  and  they  copied  the  excellent 
models  before  them  so  faithfully  as  sometimes  to  sac- 
rifice their  own  personality  to  that  of  the  masters 
whose  works  they  were  rendering.  The  most  indus- 
trious of  these  second-rate  French  masters  is  known 
under  the  name  of  the  "  Petit  Bernard."  He  never 
added  his  name  or  monogram  to  his  engravings,  and 
we  should  not  know  who  was  the  artist  who  produced 
so  many  prints  in  the  sixteenth  century,  in  which  the 


ENGRAVING    IX    FRANCE.  215 

delicacy  of  the  work  rivals  the  nicety  of  the  drawing, 
but  for  the  following  notice  in  an  edition  of  the  Bible, 
dated  1680  :  "  The  figures  which  we  give  here  are 
from  the  hand  of  an  excellent  worker,  known  in  his 
day  by  the  name  of  Salomon  Bernard,  or  the  Little 
Bernard,  who  was  always  well  thought  of  by  connois- 
seurs in  this  sort  of  work."  These  small  compositions 
are  animated  by  thousands  of  figures  in  easy  groups  ; 
their  action  is  natural,  and  they  are  drawn  with  ele- 
gance. French  art  in  them  clearly  displays  its  na- 
tional wit  and  vivacity. 

The  extraordinary  success  of  the  engravings  of 
"  Petit  Bernard  "  naturally  led  other  artists  to  attempt 
the  same  style.  They  soon  became  skilful  in  it.  At 
first  publishers  ordered  devices  from  them  to  distin- 
guish their  publications  from  others,  then  followed 
borders  of  flowers,  tail-piecesr  capital  letters,  in  which 
minute  works  rare  talent  was  shown,  proving  that  art 
requires  neither  large  spaces  nor  public  applause  to 
make  its  way  everywhere.  Unfortunately,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  class  the  publications  of  this  period.  One 
thing  is  certain, — they  are  by  different  artists.  But 
not  one  took  the  precaution  of  signing  his  works,  and 
if  a  few  names  have  escaped  oblivion,  it  is  not  always 
certain  under  which  works  they  should  be  placed. 
The  name  of  the  talented  artist  who  drew  and  en- 
graved two  small  works  which  may  be  considered  the 
best  wood-engravings  of  the  sixteenth  century,  is  ab- 
solutely unknown.  We  allude  to  the  "  Figures  of 
the  Apocalypse  "  (Paris,  Estienne  Groulleau,  1547), 


216  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

and  "  The  Loves  of  Cupid  and  Psyche "  (Paris, 
Jeanne  de  Maruef,  widow  of  Denis  Janot,  1546). 
The  translation  of  the  "  Dream  of  Polyphilus " 
(Paris,  1546),  also  contains  engravings  of  a  most  ele- 
gant style.  They  reproduce  the  engravings  of  the 
Italian  artist  who  adorned  the  edition  published  by 
the  brothers  Aldus  at  Venice  in  1499,  but  they  are 
modified  to  suit  French  taste.  We  have  long  sought 
in  vain  for  any  trustworthy  evidence  as  to  the  name 
of  the  artist.  Hitherto  one  only  of  this  great  num- 
ber of  wood-engravers  has  been  the  subject  of  a  spe- 
cial work,  and  by  means  of  the  numerous  engravings 
collected  and  published  by  his  biographer,  we  can 
form  a  very  fair  idea  of  his  talent.  Geoffroy  Tory, 
of  Bourges,  whose  life  has  been  completely  written 
by  M.  Auguste  Bernard,  was  at  the  head  of  a  school 
of  engravers,  and  all  the  works  issued  from  his  studio 
were  marked  with  a  double  cross,  whicli  was,  to  use 
a  modern  expression,  their  trade-mark.  The  master 
himself  worked  at  engraving,  and  although  he  seldom 
employed  any  sign  but  that  common  to  the  studio,  he 
doubtless  hoped  that  his  peculiar  style  of  working  on 
wood  would  suffice  to  prevent  his  productions  from 
being  confounded  with  those  of  his  pupils.  Indeed, 
it  is  not  difficult  to  detect  the  manner  of  Geoffroy 
Tory  in  a  certain  number  of  engravings  marked  with 
the  cross  of  Lorraine  only,  which  evidently  at  least 
passed  through  his  hands.  If  we  take  as  a  guide  the 
"  Hours  of  the  Virgin."  published  by  Simon  de  Co- 
lines  and  signed  in  full, — Geoffroy  Tory, — we  arc 


Fig.  20.— Herri  II.    From  the  "Entry  of  Hern-  II.  into  Paris  in 
Ly  GEorrnoY  TCEY. 


ENGRAVING   m   FRANCE.  219 

Bure  not  to  make  a  mistake.  The  drawing  of  the 
ornaments  and  figures  is  that  of  an  artist  acquainted 
•with  all  the  resources  of  the  art.  The  cutting  of  the 
wood  scrupulously  follows  the  direction  of  the  re- 
quired form,  thousands  of  small  broken-off  strokes 
attest  alike  the  inexperience  of  the  engraver  and  his 
intention  not  to  swerve  from  the  outlines  given.  The 
style  of  the  arabesques  is  borrowed  from  the  purest 
sources,  and  resembles  the  antique ;  the  supple  grace- 
ful figures  show  the  love  of  elegance  which  the  artists 
of  Fontainebleau  carried  to  extremes.  Reasoning  by 
analogy,  and  without  referring  to  uny  engravings  but 
those  bearing  the  cross  of  Lorraine,  we  can  without 
hesitation  ascribe  to  Geoft'roy  Tory  "  The  Entry  of 
Henry  II.  into  Paris  in  1549,"  "  The  Old  and  New 
Covenants,"  an  allegorical  composition  engraved  on  a 
design,  recalling  the  manner  of  Jean  Cousin,  and 
"  Francis  I.  listening  to  Machault  reading  his  Trans- 
lation of  Diodorus  Siculus."  These  engravings, 
which  are  worthy  of  the  first  place  in  every  choice 
collection,  are  the  only  ones  which  we  feel  sure  were 
entirely  engraved  by  Geoffroy  Tory.  But  we  must 
not  expect  too  much ;  we  can,  it  is  true,  name  but 
few  of  the  early  French  engravers,  but  this  appears 
to  us  an  additional  reason  for  not  slighting  those  wor- 
thy of  our  notice.  Let  not  the  French  follow  the 
example  of  some  nations,  who,  blinded  by  a  mistaken 
national  pride,  and  thinking  to  enhance  the  glory  of 
their  fellow-countrymen,  have  passed  over  in  silence 
many  French  wood-engravers  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 


220  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

tury,  and  left  the  most  remarkable  productions  in 
oblivion. 

After  Geoffroy  Tory  and  the  anonymous  engravers 
of  his  time  who  tried  to  imitate  his  manner,  wood- 
engraving  rapidly  declined.  Engraving  on  metal  was 
coming  into  favor.  Olivier  Codore,  the  author  of  the 
plates  which  decorate  the  "  Entry  of  Charles  IX.  into 
Paris  on  the  6th  of  March,  1672,"  worked  heavily, 
and  in  spite  of  the  correctness  of  his  drawing  and  his 
careful  execution,  seems  to  have  heralded  the  deca- 
dence of  this  art.  Wood-engraving,  with  which  some 
French  artists  had  succeeded  so  well,  soon  fell  into  the 
hands  of  artisans  who  looked  upon  it  merely  as  an 
economical  way  of  depicting  passing  event-^,  or  an 
easy  mode  of  satisfying  with  biblical  and  fabulous 
subjects  the  popular  love  for  allegorical  and  religious 
pictures. 

It  was  then  that  Perissim  and  Tortorel  engraved 
on  wood  the  sad  events  of  the  reign  of  Charles  IX.  ; 
their  engravings  met  with  such  success  that  they  were 
immediately  copied  on  copper  in  France,  Holland, 
and  Germany,  and  multiplied  in  immense  numbers. 
This  success  was  owing  rather  to  the  subjects  them- 
selves, drawn  in  the  heat  of  the  moment,  as  they  oc- 
curred day  by  day,  than  to  the  talent  of  the  artists 
who  produced  them. 

At  the  foot  of  the  large  engravings  of  religious  or 
secular  subjects  brought  out  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
there  are  the  names  of  many  little-known  publishers, 
who  may  themselves  also  have  handled  the  graver ; 


ENGRAVING    IN    FRANCE.  221 

Jean  Loclerc,  Denis  de  Mathoniere,  Marin  Bonneraer, 
Germain  Hoyau,  Nicolas  Prevost,  Francois  de  Gour- 
mond,  and  some  few  more,  must  be  considered  not 
only  as  traders  in  the  engravings  of  others,  but  also 
as  artists  who  both  directed  stndios,  and  set  an  exam- 
ple to  their  pupils  by  themselves  taking  part  in  the 
work.  Unfortunately,  the  necessity  for  rapid  produc- 
tion was  detrimental  to  these  engravings.  They  still 
retain  a  faint  and  distant  resemblance  to  the  graceful 
and  spirited  works  of  French  art  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  but  they  are  clumsily  and  carelessly  exe- 
cuted. Sometimes,  however,  in  spite  of  all  the  hasty 
work  of  the  engraver,  the  drawing  shows  excellent 
taste  and  incontestable  ability  ;  it  is  only  when  trade 
encroaching  on  art  first  invaded  and  then  took  posses- 
sion of  it,  that  wood-engraving,  so  successfully  prac- 
tised in  France  for  more  than  a  century,  disappeared 
entirely,  to  remain  in  complete  oblivion  for  two  cen- 
turies ;  that  is  to  say,  until  our  own  time,  when  some 
picturesque  publications  forced  themselves  on  public 
notice,  and  a  great  and  unexpected  demand  arose  for 
similar  productions.  In  the  eighteenth  century  the 
works  of  Papillon,  the  somewhat  diffuse  historian  of 
wood-engraving,  created  little  interest.  The  heavy 
and  monotonous  execution  of  the  inferior  designs  re- 
produced by  him  could  scarcely  attract  attention  at  a 
time  when  so  many  copper-plate  engravers  were  de- 
signing and  engraving  with  such  charming  grace  all 
kinds  of  vignettes,  groups  of  flowers  and  tail-pieces 
for  the  ornamentation  of  books.  The  time  was  ill- 


222  WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 

chosen.  Far  more  talent  than  Papillon  possessed  was 
required  to  effect  a  revival  of  wood-engraving,  and  his 
attempt  proved  abortive.  Fifty  years  later  the  same 
design  was  conceived,  and  being  worked  out  with  tal- 
ent and  enthusiasm,  it  met  with  decided  and  brilliant 
success.  Large  publications  were  set  on  foot,  and  ow- 
ing to  the  earnest  intelligence  of  those  who  conducted 
them,  they  prospered  beyond  expectation  ;  publishers 
called  the  most  experienced  designers  to  their  aid, 
who  in  their  turn  trained  engravers  ;  the  different 
processes  were  improved  or  perfected,  good  taste  was 
generally  diffused ;  the  long-neglected  art  nourished 
once  more,  and  no  one  now  dreams  of  disputing  the 
superiority  of  France  in  this  popular  style  of  en- 
graving. 

Engraving  on  Metal. — The  French  have  no  more 
claim  to  the  invention  of  this  than  of  wood-engraving. 
Some  authors  look  upon  certain  plates  engraved  by  a 
peculiar  process,  called  maniere  criblee,  as  the  oldest 
specimens  of  engraving,  but  we  do  not  think  this 
opinion  will  have  any  weight  with  those  who  know 
and  appreciate  the  "  Pax  "  of  Maso.Finiguerra.  Nor 
is  France  the  only  country  which  availed  itself  of  this 
process. 

One  word  only  as  to  the  execution  of  works  done 
in  the  maniere  criblee.  After  covering  his  plate  with 
an  infinite  number  of  small  white  dots  on  a  uniformly 
black  ground,  the  artist — if  a  worker  of  this  kind 
deserve  the  title — marked  out  the  shape  of  the  figure 


ENGRAVING    EST    FRAXCE.  223 

he  tried  to  copy  with  heavy  strokes,  and,  not  content 
with  a  mere  copy,  he  even  attempted  shading  by 
means  of  small  lines  produced  with  an  instrument 
which  rather  fretted  than  made  incisions  on  the  metal. 
Being  engraved  on  very  soft  material,  on  silver  or  on 
tin,  these  plates  are  of  archaeological  value  only  —  in- 
teresting from  an  historical,  not  an  artistic  point  of 
view.  The  name  of  Bernard  Milnet,  given  without 
consideration  to  the  author  of  engravings  in  maniere 


i'e^  because  of  an  inscription  at  the  foot  of  the 
"  Virgin  with  the  Infant  Jesus  in  her  Arms,"  is  now 
more  than  doubtful.  Different  interpretations  have 
been  given  of  this  inscription.  Every  one  is  agreed 
that  scarcely  an  artist  of  the  fifteenth  century,  what- 
ever his  merit,  cared  enough  for  fame  to  sign  his 
name  in  full  ;  the  greatest  masters  sometimes  placed 
their  monogram  or  some  figurative  sign  in  a  corner  of 
their  plates,  but  many  left  no  mark  by  which  they 
can  be  recognized.  The  work,  however,  is  so  different 
that  it  is  evident  one  artist  could  not  have  produced 
all  the  engravings  of  this  kind.  Many  engravers  then 
used  the  maniere  criblee  according  to  their  ability, 
but  none  passed  .that  boundary  so  difficult  to  define 
which  separates  true  artists  from  artisans. 

There  was  no  distinguishing  original  power  in  the 
engravings  in  Brey  den  bach's  book,  called  "  Holy  Pil- 
grimages to  Jerusalem  and  the  adjacent  Neighbor- 
hood "  (Lyon,  Michel  Topie  de  Pymont  and  Jacques 
Heremberck,  1488).  They  reproduce  on  copper,  wood- 
engravings  published  at  Mayence  two  years  before, 


224  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

and  they  give  us  panoramas  of  Yenice,  Parcnzo, 
Corfu,  Modon,  Candia,  Rhodes,  and  a  general  view 
of  the  Holy  Land  and  its  environs.  The  engraving  is 
in  a  very  backward  stage,  but  the  architectural  de- 
signs are  careful,  and  on  this  account  their  author — 
called  the  Engraver  of  1488 — deserves  honorable 
mention  in  a  comprehensive  review  of  French  artists. 
Noel  Garnier,  who  caine  soon  after  him,  and  was 
quite  a  primitive  engraver,  signed  the  greater  number 
of  his  prints  in  full  or  with  his  initials.  His  copies 
of  engravings  by  Albert  Diirer,  George  Pencz,  and 
Hans-Sebald  Beharn  are  characterized  by  deplorable 
feebleness,  and  show  no  talent  whatever ;  he  must  not 
escape  severe  judgment,  for  at  the  time  he  lived  good 
models  were  not  rare,  great  masters  were  within  his 
reach — (some  of  the  engravings  he  copied  were  exe- 
cuted as  late  as  1540) — but  he  could  not  avail  himself 
of  the  advantages  around  him  and  the  inferiority  of 
his  work  is  without  excuse. 

The  first  engraver  on  metal  of  whom  France  may 
be  proud,  and  who  deserves  the  title  of  master,  is  Jean 
Duvet.  He  was  born  at  Langres  in  1485.  However 
much  Italy  may  have  influenced  his  genius  he  still 
retained  his  native  individuality.  Mantegna  seems  to 
have  been  his  favorite  master,  and  Jean  Duvet's  best 
work,  "  The  Martyrdom  of  St.  Sebastian,"  belongs  to 
the  school  of  the  Paduan  master.  The  series  of  "  The 
Apocalypse "  and  the  engravings  relating  to  the 
"  Amours  of  Henry  II.,"  however,  seem  to  have  been 
produced  quite  independently  of  foreign  influence. 


ENGRAVING   IN   FRANCE.  225 

These  compositions  are  rather  confused  ;  the  work  is 
too  much  alike,  the  accessories  are  brought  out  as 
carefully  as  the  principal  figures,  and  the  result  is 
that  the  interest  is  divided  and  the  eye  does  not  at 
once  seize  the  intention  of  the  whole.  Two  artists  of 
Lyons,  Claude  Corneille  and  Jean  de  Gourmout,  signed 
their  engravings  witli  their  monograms ;  a  double  C 
and  a  J  and  G  interlaced.  They  were  probably  jew- 
ellers before  they  became  engravers.  Their  style  of 
working  on  copper  resembles  that  of  the  second-rate 
wood-engravers  who  flourished  at  Lyons  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  and  they  were  probably  guided  by 
them.  They  chiefly  excelled  in  small  compositions. 
They  delighted  in  complicated  architecture,  and  peo- 
pled their  porticos  and  unfinished  rotundas  with 
small  biblical  or  fabulous  personages,  which  they 
drew  with  some  spirit ;  the  neat  and  careful  execu- 
tion betraying  their  former  occupation  of  goldsmiths. 
One  of  them,  Jean  de  Gourmont,  was  also  a  painter. 
.There  is  a  picture  of  his  in  the  Louvre,  "  The  Nativ- 
ity," which  was  formerly  in  the  magnificent  castle  of 
Ecouen,  and  the  same  delicacy  of  touch  and  taste  for 
architecture  are  observable  in  the  painter  as  in  the 
engraver. 

Jean  Cousin,  one  of  the  greatest  artists  of  the 
"  Renaissance,"  with  whom  most  modern  historians 
begin  the  history  of  painting  in  France,  did  not  dis- 
dain to  handle  the  needle.  He  was  not  content  with 
supplying  wood-engravers  with  the  excellent  designs 
which  illustrate  his  "  Treatise  on  Perspective  "  and 


226  WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 

liis  "Book  of  Portraiture,"  lie  wished  himself  to 
fathom  the  difficulties  of  an  art  which,  although  al- 
most at  its  zenith  in  other  countries,  was  only  begin- 
ning to  make  head  in  France.  He  engraved  and 
signed  three  plates :  "  The  Conversion  of  St.  Paul," 
"  The  Annunciation,"  and  "  The  Entombment,"  im- 
pressions from  which  are  very  rare.  Boldly  and  skil- 
fully engraved,  they  would  alone  suffice  to  give  a 
very  complete  idea  of  Jean  Cousin's  talent.  In  them 
we  find  the  grandeur  of  style  and  the  subdued  ele^ 
gance  which  are  characteristic  of  this  master.  The 
different  expressions  of  the  figures  are  all  appropriate, 
each  face  well  conveys  the  meaning  intended  by  the 
artist.  Look  at  the  holy  women  who  are  wrapping 
Christ's  body  in  its  shroud,  they  testify  their  grief  in 
different  ways  ;  some  bathe  the  feet  of  the  corpse 
with  tears,  others,  wrapped  in  fervent  contemplation, 
are  content  to  adore.  In  the  "  Annunciation,"  the 
celestial  messenger  is  a  contrast  to  the  modest  and 
shrinking  Virgin,  who  receives  the  news  with  grati- 
tude, mingled  with  a  kind  of  dread.  Finally  "  St. 
Paul,"  stretched  on  his  back,  among  his  soldiers, 
seems  to  implore  Divine  mercy,  with  his  arms  ex- 
tended towards  Heaven.  We  look  in  vain  amongst 
early  French  engravers  for  the  grand  style  of  beauty, 
for  the  truth  of  action  and  expression  which  are  so 
conspicuous  in  the  works  of  this  talented  master. 

In  the  sixteenth  century  engraving  advanced  in 
France  with  rapid  strides.  Line-engravers  and  etch- 
ers of  great  original  power  are  very  numerous,  even 


ENGRAVING   IN   FRANCE.  227 

witliout  including  those  of  the  school  of  Fontaine- 
bleau.  Tlie  style  of  Pierre  "Woeiriot,  an  artist  of 
Lorraine,  in  his  engravings  after  his  own  designs, 
resembles  that  of  his  predecessor,  Jean  Duvet.  lie, 
too,  overdid  the  work  in  his  figures.  All  his  portraits 
are  not  of  equal  merit,  but  we  are  favorably  im- 
pressed by  his  engraved  likenesses  of  Louise  Lahbe, 
Francois  de  Serocourt,  Antoine  le  Pois,  and  of  him- 
self. In  them  he  is  seen  to  great  advantage,  either 
because  these  faces  suited  him  better,  or  because  they 
were  really  superior  models,  they  entitle  him  to  rank 
among  the  excellent  and  prolific  portrait-takers  who 
flourished  throughout  the  sixteenth  century  in  PVance. 

Nicolas  Beatrizet  and  Nicolo  della  Casa,  fellow- 
countryman  of  Woeiriot,  passed  their  lives  in  Italy. 
They  were  French  by  birth  only,  and  their  style 
resembles  that  of  many  Italian  masters — the  Ghisi, 
for  instance — far  more  than  that  of  any  Frenchmen. 
Their  talent  was  not  so  great  that  the  French  need 
care  to  lay  claim  to  it ;  they  yielded  to  the  influence 
of  Michael  Angelo's  successors,  and,  like  all  the  late 
disciples  of  this  great  master,  they  copied  his  exag- 
gerations, and  missed  the  true  beauty  and  style  of  his 
works.  Etienne  Duperac,  who  also  lived  at  Rome, 
devoted  himself  entirely  to  copying  the  picturesque 
sites  and  monuments  around  him.  His  style  is  cold, 
but  his  drawing  is  correct,  and  there  is  much  valuable 
archaeological  evidence  on  the  ancient  monuments  of 
Rome  to  b-3  found  in  his  works. 

Paris  was  not,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  what  she  be- 


228  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

came  later,  a  centre  of  attraction  to  all  artists.  Until 
then  the  provinces  also  had  their  schools  of  engraving, 
and  each  department,  so  to  speak,  could  cite  some 
honorable  name.  Orleans,  amongst  others,  could  pride 
herself  on  having  produced  the  engraver  Etienne  De- 
laune.  He  was  certainly  one  of  the  most  prolific  of 
the  clever  engravers  of  the  French  Renaissance.  His 
style  gives  evident  proof  that  he  had  studied  a  gold- 
smith's trade.  This  accounts  for  his  love  of  small 
works.  He  did  produce  two  or  three  large  engrav- 
ings, after  compositions  by  Jean  Cousin  ;  but  he  was 
not  nearly  so  much  at- his  ease  in  this  style.  When 
left  to  himself,  or  when  he  engraved  his  son's  designs, 
he  managed  to  produce  complicated  compositions  in 
very  small  spaces,  and  yet,  with  so  much  exactness, 
that  each  person  and  object  is  admirably  proportioned 
and  could  not  be  better  placed.  In  engraving  he  first 
drew  a  general  outline,  and  moulded  it  into  shape 
with  little  dots,  now  and  then  heightened  with  strokes 
— a  usual  practice  with  goldsmiths  who  had  to  finish 
off  every  portion  of  their  plates  with  minute  and  lov- 
ing care,  as  they  were  submitted  to  the  direct  gaze  of 
the  public.  Numerous  ornaments,  some  elegant  ara- 
besques, some  pieces  of  jewelry,  and  two  rare  engrav- 
ings of  the  interior  of  a  goldsmith's  studio,  complete 
the  works  of  the  engraver  of  Orleans,  and  justify  the 
esteem  in  which  he  is  held. 

Jean  Chartier  and  Pierre  Vajlet  were  born  and 
worked  at  Orleans.  The  former  executed,  with  a  cer- 
tain harshness,  about  ten  engravings  of  allegorical 


ENGRAVING    IX    FRANCE.  229 

figures—1'  Force,"  "  Abundance,"  "  Justice,"  &c.  The 
drawing  shows  that  the  artist  liad  kept  pace  with  the 
progress  made  in  France  in  his  age,  but  the  engraving 
has  fa lluii  far  short  of  the  designer's  intention,  and  is 
miserably  poor. 

Pierre  Yailet  was  much  more  skilful.  He  etched 
the  celebrated  map  of  Paris,  prepared  by  Francois 
Quesnel,  with  ease  combined  with  exactness.  He  was 
an  equally  true  interpreter  of  the  human  counte- 
nance, as  proved  by  his  own  portrait  and  that  of  the 
botanist,  Jean  Robin  ;  and  in  his  engravings  of  the 
romance  of  "  Theagene  "  and  u  Chariclee,"  he  has 
shown  that  he  could  also  cleverly  render  the  designs 
of  others. 

Joseph  Boillot  was  a  native  of  Langres.  He  hab 
left  two  works  of  totally  different  styles ;  in  his 
"  Livre  des  Termes,"  the  engraving  is  heavy  and  the 
plate  is  overloaded  with  useless  strokes ;  but  in 
another  of  his  books,  "  1'Art  Militaire "  (1598),  on 
the  contrary,  his  work  is  picturesque,  harmonious,  and 
easy,  without  being  incorrect. 

Pierre  Sablon  etched  his  own  portrait  at  Chartres, 
and  has  taken  care  to  tell  us  to  what  we  are  indebted 
for  his  likeness  in  the  following  lines  : 

"  Me  contemplant  un  jour  en  deux  diverges  glaces 
Je  veis  le  mien  profil  despeinct  nai'vement 
Lors  je  delibere  en  moy  soudainement 
De  graver  ce  pourtraict  dont  vous  voyez  les  traces." 

At  Bourges,  Jean  Bouchier,  a  very  clever  artist. 


230  BONDERS    OF    ENGIZAVING. 

but  of  little  celebrity,  whose  works  show  real  talent, 
engraved  six  plates  with  so  much  elegance  and  grace, 
that  we  think  he  must  have  taken  his  inspiration  from 
the  school  of  Parma.  His  best  work  represents  the 
"  Virgin  Standing  with  the  Infant  Jesus  in  her  arms, 
who  is  holding  up  his  mouth  to  kiss  her."  The  divine 
Child's  action,  stretching  up  to  reach  his  mother's  face, 
is  prettily  conceived,  and  the  artist  has  most  happily 
rendered  the  mother's  joy  in  finding  herself  thus  be- 
loved. Jean  Bouchier's  engravings  are  distinguished 
rather  for  correctness  of  drawing  and  justice  of  ex- 
pression than  for  practical  ability,  for  the  execution  is 
unskilful,  and  shows  that  the  artist  had  not  studied 
the  process.  Other  provincial  engravers  worthy  of 
notice  might  be  named,  but  it  is  not  desirable  to  pur- 
sue this  inquiry  further ;  by  naming  a  few  we  have 
sufficiently  indicated  the  state  of  the  art  of  engraving 
in  France  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

Paris,  too,  had  her  share  ;  indeed,  she  was  the 
centre  in  which  the  engravers  of  greatest  talent  met 
together.  Pierre  Biard  executed  an  extensive  series 
of  original  engravings  in  a  picturesque  style  ;  but  he 
succeeded  better  when  he  followed  the  designs  of 
others  ;  and  two  copies — "  The  Slave,"  after  Michael 
Angelo,  and  "  Venus  jealous  of  Psyche  urging  Love 
to  avenge  her  wrongs,"  after  Giulio  JRomano — al- 
though rather  too  freely  rendered,  give  a  more  favora- 
ble idea  of  his  talent  than  all  his  other  works. 

In  some  engravings  which  adorn  the  "  Ballet 
Comique  de  la  Koync  faict  aux  nopces  de  Monsieur  le 


ENGRAVING    IX    FRANCE.  231 

Due  de  Joyeuse  er  de  Madamoyselle  de  Vaudemont" 
(Paris,  1582,  in  -Ito.),  Jacques  Patin  gave  proof  of 
considerable  talent ;  the  drawing  of  the  large  figures 
might  be  better,  but  the  finely-executed  engraving,  as 
a  rule,  deserves  all  praise. 

Side  by  side  with  these  artists  arose  a  group  of 
engravers  who  were  content  to  reproduce  the  works 
of  others,  probably  because  they  themselves  lacked 
all  power  of  invention.  There  being  no  well-organ- 
ized school  of  painting  in  France,  although  many  of 
their  neighbors  possessed  an  almost  embarrassing 
number,  some  sought  their  models  in  Flanders,  some 
in  Italy.  Charles  Hallery,  Pierre  Firens,  and  Jean 
Baptiste  Barbe  took  their  inspiration  from  the  works 
of  Wierix,  and  did  not  fail  to  imitate  his  feeble  style 
of  interpreting  nature.  Like  their  patrons,  they  suc- 
ceeded better  with  portraits  than  with  religious  sub- 
jects. The  latter,  indeed,  are  executed  with  weari- 
some monotony,  every  thing  is  worked  out  with  equal 
care,  and  the  art  of  bringing  the  interesting  parts  into 
relief  is  altogether  wanting.  Philip  Thomassin,  Vale- 
rien  Regnart,  and  other  Frenchmen  of  the  same  period, 
turned  to  Italy  ;  but  instead  of  studying  the  master- 
pieces of  Marc- Antonio  and  his  pupils,  they  addressed 
themselves  to  Cornelius  Cort,  a  Flemish  artist  estab- 
lished at  Rome,  and  tried  to  imitate  his  pompous  and 
insipid  style.  By  this  strange  fancy  they  gained  noth- 
ing and  sacrificed  their  own  originality.  Their  harsh 
engravings  of  these  compositions  of  questionable  taste 
could  give  them  but  a  very  inferior  position  as  artists. 


232  WOSTDEBS  or  ENGKAVING. 

Tlie  engravers  of  whom  we  liuvc  been  speaking 
were  indifferent  to  the  school  of  Fontainebleau,  to 
which  Francis  I.  had  attracted  experienced  masters 
from  all  countries.  It  was  otherwise  with  those  who 
are  now  to  occupy  us.  Italians,  French,  and  Flemish, 
while  breathing  the  same  air,  seem  to  have  forgotten 
their  own  nationality,  or  rather  their  works  were 
combinations  of  the  styles  peculiar  to  each  country. 

Two  Italian  masters,  Rosso  and  Prhnaticcio,  di- 
rected the  school.  They  were  both  highly  gifted,  and 
their  works  taught  better  lessons  than  any  amount  of 
the  best  theoretic  instruction  could  have  given.  TVhile 
architects  enlarged  the  king's  favorite  palace,  artists 
assembled  in  France  covered  the  walls  with  immense 
frescoes,  which  supplied  engravers  with  innumerable 
subjects. 

Among  the  best  engravers  of  the  school  of  Fon- 
tainebleau whose  names  are  preserved  to  us  we  must 
name  Antonio  Fantuzzi,  Leonard  Tiry,  Rene  Boyvin, 
and  Guido  Ruggieri.  They  left  many  works  signed 
in  full,  or  with  a  monogram,  and  worked  under  the 
supervision  of  Rosso  or  Primaticcio.  This  accounts 
for  the  marvellous  exactness  with  which  they  copied 
the  almost  exaggerated  grace  and  elegance  of  some 
of  these  masters'  paintings.  Antonio  Fantuzzi,  some- 
times called  Maitre  Fantose  in  France,  was  the  most 
talented  of  the  engravers  of  the  school.  He  seemed 
born  to  copy  the  designs  of  Primaticcio.  In  the 
"  Parnassus,"  a  composition  full  of  figures,  he  suc- 
ceeded by  the  nicety  of  his  work  in  giving  to  each. 


EN'GEAVIXG   IN    FKAXCE.  233 

group,  to  each  figure,  its  true  distinctness  and  its  true 
proportions.  In  an  equally  complicated  composition 
representing  "  Jupiter  sending  Juno,  Venus,  and 
Minerva  to  Paris,"  he  heightened  his  etching  with 
some  strokes  of  the  graver,  which  relieve  the  work 
without  injuring  the  harmony  of  the  engraving;  but 
when  he  used  the  graver  only,  as  in  the  "  Grottoes  of 
Fontainebleau,"  signed  in  full,  "  Ant.  Fantuz.  J.  D. 
Bologna  fecit  an.  D.  MD.  45,"  he  was  evidently  fet- 
tered by  the  limited  capabilities  of  his  tools,  and  his 
work  is  cold  compared  with  his  etchings. 

Leonard  Tiry,  a  Fleming  by  birth,  who  passed 
part  of  his  life  in  Italy,  and  came  to  France  when  his 
talent  was  developed,  was  the  most  prolific  of  the 
engravers  of  Fontainebleau.  He  was  a  true  artist ; 
his  etchings  are  easy,  and  his  line-engravings  so  free 
that  we  forget  the  process  employed.  He  rendered 
the  works  of  Rosso  and  Primaticcio  with  perfect 
fidelity,  and  with  such  facility  that  he  seemed  to  be 
working  out  his  own  ideas,  rather  than  compelled  to 
follow  the  designs  of  others.  His  landscapes  show  a 
strange  mixture  of  the  styles  of  the  countries  he  had 
successively  inhabited.  His  architecture  proves  his 
visit  to  Italy,  his  costumes  his  sojourn  in  Prance,  and 
the  general  appearance  of  his  engravings,  the  slim, 
jagged,  abrupt  strokes,  tell  plainly  that  he  lived  in 
that  country  whose  scenery  has  been  rendered  with 
such  marvellous  exactness  by  Francis  Hogenberg. 
Vasari  not  unreasonably  conjectures  that  Leonard 
Tiry  (called  by  some  historians  of  engraving  Leon 


234  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

Daven),  was  formerly  a  painter,  and  had  worked  with 
Rosso,  which,  would  account  for  the  engraver's  great 
ability. 

Rene  Boyvin  was  born  at  Angers.  Nothing  is 
known  of  his  life,  of  the  date  of  his  birth,  or  the 
name  of  his  master.  But  we  are  aware,  and  this, 
perhaps,  is  all  that  is  necessary,  that  he  was  a  very 
skilful  engraver  and  a  zealous  admirer  of  the  painters 
of  Fontainebleau.  He  employed  the  graver  only, 
and  this  instrument,  so  difficult  to  manage,  became 
lissome  and  graceful  in  his  hand,  producing  excellent 
results.  Boyvin's  numerous  engravings  after  Rosso, 
Primaticcio,  and  Lucas  Penni,  show  profound  respect 
for  the  talent  of  those  masters,  and  prove  that  line- 
engraving  under  a  clever  artist  is  as  well  fitted  to 
render  complicated  subjects  as  etching.  The  series 
called  the  "  History  of  Jason,"  after  Rosso,  speak  well 
for  Rene  Boyvin's  powers.  Each  small  subject  is 
enclosed  in  a  different  border,  showing  the  painter's 
fertile  imagination  and  the  engraver's  ease  of  hand- 
ling the  burin.  Guido  Ruggieri  followed  Rosso  and 
Primaticcio  when  in  France  ;  he,  too,  used  the  graver, 
and  succeeded  in  rendering  with  it  the  works  of  the 
masters  whom  he  took  as  models.  His  productions 
are  not  numerous,  but  they  are  such  as  to  justify  the 
favor  in  which  he  is  held. 

Leonard  Limousin,  the  celebrated  enameller,  pro- 
duced a  few  engravings  only,  which  were  mere  speci- 
mens of  patterns  to  be  reproduced  in  enamel.  They 
were  original,  and  their  style  resembles  that  of  the 


ENGRAVING    IN    FRANCE.  235 

school  of  Fontainebleau.  Four  plates  with  his  initial?, 
dated  1544:,  are  of  subjects  from  the  Kew  Testament ; 
they  are  rather  harsh,  but  the  handling  is  clear,  bold, 
and  free.  The  compositions,  too,  are  happily  con- 
ceived ;  the  drawing  is  tirm,  correct,  and  powerful. 
The  outlines  merely  of  the  figures  are  given,  the  artist 
reserving  the  rest  of  the  work  for  a  process  which  he 
understood  better. 

Geoffroy  Dumonstier,  a  member  of  a  celebrated 
family  of  painters  in  France,  produced  some  vigorous 
etchings  of  an  ultra-picturesque  style.  His  slender 
figures  of  the  Virgin  or  the  Shepherds  adoring  the 
infant  Jesus  are  exaggerations  of  Rosso' s  favorite 
forms  (we  may  remark  that  the  painter-engraver 
treated  this  subject  five  times),  the  distribution  of  the 
light,  which  is  concentrated  on  the  Divine  Infant,  is 
all  that  redeems  the  work  of  Dumonstier,  who  owes 
his  reputation  to  his  name  rather  than  to  his  produc- 
tions. 

Jacques  Prevost,  born  at  Gray,  has  left  a  portrait 
of  Francis  I.,  which  is  full  of  life  and  character.  He 
has  copied  the  toothless  mouth  of  the  old  monarch 
with  an  exactness  which  must  have  been  displeasing 
to  the  king  and  his  courtiers ;  but  it  is  attractive  to 
those  who  value  correctness  of  drawing  and  persever- 
ing pursuit  of  truth,  as  it  proves  that  the  artist  of 
Franche  Comte  thought  more  of  these  than  of  Court 
favor. 

We  will  merely  mention  the  existence  of  the  nu- 
merous anonymous  engravings  inspired  by  the  artists 


236  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

of  Fontainebleau ;  any  discussion  of  their  merits 
would  delay  us  too  long.  Their  authors  are  known 
under  the  collective  name  of  the  anonymous  engrav- 
ers of  the  school  of  Fontainebleau. 

Engraving  only  played  a  secondary  part  in  the 
general  movement  of  art  at  this  period.  It  served  to 
multiply  and  spread  abroad  the  works  of  the  school, 
but  it  was  not  appreciated  at  the  time  ;  not  until  age 
and  successive  mutilations  had  injured  the  palace  of 
Fontainebleau  was  its  real  usefulness  apparent.  En- 
gravings alone  remain  to  prove  how  much  talent  was 
employed  during  the  Renaissance.  But  for  Jacques 
Androuet  du  Cerceau's  collection  of  engravings  in  his 
book  on  the  "  Best  Buildings  of  France,"  we  should 
know  nothing  of  a  number  of  castles  now  destroyed, 
or  of  the  precious  monuments  which  rose  up  on  every 
side  iu  every  corner  of  France  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. 

Without  the  engravers  named  above,  we  should 
know  none  of  Primaticcio's  works.  Time  and  the 
hand  of  man  have  destroyed  or  damaged  the  admira- 
ble paintings  by  the  Florentine  artist  on  the  walls  of 
Francis  I.'s  palace  ;  and  it  would  be  a  great  honor  for 
the  engravers  of  this  famous  school  if  they  had  done 
nothing  but  preserve  the  remembrance  of  it.  But 
they  have  another  title  to  glory  no  less  honorable. 
They  gave  an  impulse  to  French  artists  which  no  fel- 
low-countrymen would  have  done ;  and  we  must  re- 
member that  we  have  to  thank  the  gallant  engravers 
of  Fontainebleau,  in  a  great  measure,  for  that  school 


ENGRAVING   IN   FRANCE.  237 

which  was  subsequently  founded  with  such  unequalled 
success  by  the  engravers  of  France. 

While  prolific  and  untiring  decorators  were  vieing 
with  each  other  in  covering  the  walls  of  Fontaine- 
bleau  with  scenes  from  mythology  in  a  style  which 
combined  that  of  the  Italian,  Flemish,  and  French 
schools,  an  art  entirely  national  was  coming  into  fash- 
ion at  Court,  and  spreading  throughout  France.  We 
allude  to  portrait-painting.  We  know  that  the  beau- 
tiful series  of  portraits  produced  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury are  said  to  be  traceable  to  Flanders,  and  that 
John  Yan  Eyck  and  Hans  Hemling  have  been  named 
as  the  sponsors  of  this  art  in  France.  But  without 
any  intention  of  detracting  from  the  merits  of  the 
portraits  by  these  Flemings,  we  must  assert  that  the 
style  of  the  French  artists  differs  entirely  from  theirs. 
Van  Eyck  and  Memling  painted  every  portion  of  the 
human  form,  even  the  smallest  details,  with  great 
care ;  the  French,  on  the  contrary,  give  the  general 
outline,  care  nothing  for  details,  and  think  only  of 
rendering  the  human  face  with  all  its  spirit,  life,  char- 
acter, and  individuality.  Little  do  they  care  for  the 
processes  employed,  or  for  the  complete  sacrifice  of 
their  own  personality.  The  crayons  ascribed  to  Clou- 
et,  Qnesnel,  and  Duraontier  are  admirable.  Their 
simplicity  is  marvellous ;  it  is  difficult  to  say  how 
they  are  done ;  the  paper  is  scarcely  covered,  the 
tones  are  blended  with  incomparable  perfection,  the 
detail  of  the  work  escapes  us  ;  they  seem  to  have 
been  produced  by  a  breath,  a  breath  fixing  the  life 


238  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

and  expression  of  the  face,  which,  after  the  lapse  of 
three  centuries,  has  lost  nothing  of  its  freshness  or  of 


its  grace. 


Engraving  could  not  entirely  master  the  difficul- 
ties of  such  works ;  the  genius  of  the  artists  who 
practised  it  was  powerless  before  the  striking  truth  of 
these  life-like  portraits.  Obliged  to  give  outline  and 
shading  in  strokes,  the  artist  could,  indeed,  render  the 
style  of  the  drawing  and  the  appearance  of  the  face, 
but  to  give  the  harmonious  aspect  of  the  originals 
was  beyond  his  powers.  Jean  Rabel,  Thomas  de  Leu, 
Leonard  Gualtier,  Pierre  Daret,  Claude  M  ell  an  and 
Michel  Lasne,  the  best  artists,  interpreted  the  designs 
entrusted  to  them,  each  in  his  own  way,  with  great 
practical  ability  and  knowledge  of  drawing.  But 
they  never  really  transferred  to  metal  the  exquisite 
charm  of  these  unrivalled  crayon  drawings.  Jean 
Babel's  engravings  prove  that  he  was  himself  a 
painter  and  skilful  designer;  he  excelled  in  rendering 
the  face  and  character  of  all  his  models.  He  has 
given  us  natural  portraits  of  Remi  Belleau,  Antoine 
Muret,  the  president  De  Thou,  and  the  chancellor  De 
1'Hopital  ;  they  are  like  wyhat  history  leads  ns  to  be- 
lieve, we  feel  in  looking  at  them  that  Rabel  has  left 
us  true  and  favorable  likenesses.  Although  his  en- 
graving is  somewhat  timid  and  inexperienced,  it  faith- 
fully renders  the  design,  and  nevei'  shows  awkward- 
ness or  want  of  knowledge  of  drawing.  Thomas  de 
Leu  never  surpassed  Jean  Rabel,  although  he  was  a 
far  more  skilful  engraver.  His  ability  only  injured 


ENGRAVING    IN    FRANCE.  230 

his  drawing  by  making  it  labored.  We  must  tliank 
liim  for  putting  the  names  of  those  from  whom  he 
took  his  models  under  many  of  his  plates.  This  pre- 
caution establishes  the  authenticity  of  great  masters' 
K-orks,  and  rescues  many  artists  from  oblivion.  Isaie 
Fournier,  James  Blame,  Jacob  Bunel,  Darlay,  G. 
Guibert,  Quesnel,  Daniel  and  Pieire  Dumonstier,  are 
indebted  to  him  for  all  or  part  of  their  fame. 

The  chief  merit  cf  Thomas  de  Leu  was  the  faith- 
fulness with  which  he  copied  the  painter's  work.  It 
is  difficult  to  choose  amongst  the  many  portraits  en- 
graved by  Thomas  de  Leu.  The  skill  is  about  the 
same  in  all,  there  are  few  faults  in  the  work  ;  his  por- 
traits all  show  great  knowledge  of  physiognomy  and 
correctness  of  drawing.  His  likenesses  of  Pierre  de 
Brach,  Barnabe  Brisson,  of  Gabrielle  D'Estrees,  or 
of  Antoine  Caron,  are  of  equal  merit ;  the  delicacy 
of  the  expression  and  the  clearness  of  the  engraving 
is  the  same  in  all.  At  first  Thomas  de  Leu  was  influ- 
enced by  the  pompous  compositions  and  monotonous 
engravings  of  Wierix  ;  he  profited,  it  is  true,  by  his 
excellent  portraits,  but  copied  his  faults  as  well  as  his 
good  points.  Fortunately,  he  soon  turned  from  as- 
cetic subjects  to  nature,  and  when  he  addressed  him- 
self, either  directly  or  through  masters,  to  the  human 
figure,  he  brought  out  works  far  superior  to  his  cold 
engravings  after  poor  compositions  without  beauty  or 
grandeur. 

Leonard  Gualtier,  who  engraved  about  an  equal 
number  of  vignettes  and  portraits,  was  the  contempo- 


240  WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 

rary  of  Thomas  dc  Leu,  and  we  may  almost  say  his 
rival.  Being  neighbors,  the  two  artists  often  took 
the  same  person's  portraits.  Their  styles  were  differ- 
ent. Leonard  Gualtier's  work  was  less  condensed 
than  that  of  Thomas  de  Leu  ;  his  strokes  were  deeper 
and  wider  apart;  he  caught  a  likeness  equally  well, 
but  his  portraits  were  harsher  and  less  pleasing  than 
those  of  Leu. 

Briot,  Jean  Picard,  and  Jasper  Isac,  who  imitated 
the  style  of  Thomas  de  Leu  and  of  Leonard  Gualtier, 
tried,  but  without  success,  to  reproduce  the  works  of 
the  skilful  crayon  designers  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Their  drawing  was  poor,  and  their  engraving  unpar- 
donably  dull.  The  faces  of  the  figures  hardly  stand 
out  from  the  copper,  so  haivh  and  inadequate  is  the 
engraving.  Jacques  de  Fornazeris,  who  may  be  the 
same  as  Isai'e  Fournier,  after  whom  Thomas  de  Leu 
engraved,  recalls  the  style  of  the  master  more  than 
any  contemporary.  He  has  reproduced  some  French 
designs  of  the  sixteenth  century  with  delicacy  and 
sufficient  exactness  ;  and  engraved  a  good  many  vi- 
gnettes. Finally,  Jacques  Granthomme  and  Charles 
Mallery  were  too  anxious  to  imitate  Flemish  works 
to  be  included  in  the  French  school.  Their  works  re- 
semble the  engravings  of  Wieiix,  and  never  have  any 
attempt  at  individuality. 

To  continue  this  uninterrupted  list  of  portrait- 
takers  who  are  such  an  honor  to  the  French  school, 
we  must  pass  on  to  the.  seventeenth  century,  and  con- 
sider Pierre  Daret,  Claude  Mellan,  and  Michel  La^ne, 


Fig.  24.— Head  of  Cariit.    Engraved  by  C-ACSE  MZLL-^:;. 


ENGRAVING    IN    FRANCE.  243 

of  whom  we  have  before  spoken,  and  who  were  under 
Louis  XIII.  what  Thomas  de  Leu  and  Leonard  Gual- 
tier  had  been  under  Henry  IV.  Few  persons  of  any 
celebrity  or  importance  escaped  these  experienced  art- 
ists. Unfortunately,  although  they  drew  well,  their 
style  of  engraving  was  very  unpleasing.  Pierre 
Daret,  whose  work  with  the  graver  was  generally 
cold  and  monotonous,  yet  managed  to  reproduce  very 
fairly  the  Abbe  of  Saint  Ciran,  after  Daniel  Dumon- 
stier.  Claude  Mellan,  who  rather  paraded  his  skill 
in  drawing  a  full-faced  head  of  Christ  with  one  un- 
broken stroke  of  the  tool,  showed  a  happier  taste  in 
the  portrait  of  Peiresc  and  in  some  female  faces  after 
his  own  crayons.  Our  attention  is  unfortunately 
called  from  the  good  drawing  to  the  wide  and  often 
monotonous  lines  of  the  execution. 

After  his  earliest  engravings  it  is  easy  to  see  that 
Michel  Lasne  for  a  time  turned  to  foreign  models  in- 
stead of  being  content  with  those  close  at  hand. 
This  was  a  pity  ;  Francois  Yillamene  and  the  Sade- 
lers  exercised  an  unfortunate  influence  over  him;  and 
it  was  not  until  late  in  life  that  he  with  difficulty 
freed  himself  from  it,  and  asserted  his  own  indepen- 
dence. It  was  about  1630 — his  first  engraving  bears 
date  1617 — that  he  adopted  his  subdued  style  of  cross- 
hatching  and  working  out  the  face  which  gained  him 
so  high  a  position  in  the  French  school.  The  portraits 
which  belong  to  this  new  period,  of  Pierre  Seguier 
and  Pierre  de  Marcassns  after  D.  Dunionstier,  of 
Strozzi  after  Simon  Vouet,  of  Brunver  and  Evrard 


244  WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 

Jabacli  after.  Vandyck,  are  remarkable  for  a  firmness 
of  handling  and  knowledge  of  physiognomy  rare 
amongst  French  artists.  Honesty  of  interpretation 
has  not  excluded  from  the  engraving  life,  likeness,  or 
individuality.  Unfortunately,  at  the  end  of  his  ca- 
reer, Michel  Lasne  swerved  from  the  right  path.  He 
was  jealous  of  the  success  of  Claude  Mellan,  deter- 
mined to  imitate  him,  and  proceeded  to  make  his 
strokes  as  wide  apart  as  possible,  and,  to  use  an  au- 
thorized expression,  he  manoeuvred  so  much,  that  he 
sacrificed  correct  drawing  to  the  useless  display  of 
his  knowledge.  In  this  mistaken  endeavor,  he  lost 
his  best  characteristic,  the  simplicity,  not  without 
energy,  with  which  he  had  formerly  interpreted  the 
character  and  physiognomy  of  his  portraits. 

The  artists  whom  we  have  been  considering  were 
most  successful  with  portraits,  but  they  have  never- 
theless left  some  works  in  other  styles  which  deserve 
mention.  They  were  not  indifferent  to  passing  events, 
and  took  care  to  depict  the  most  important  of  them  ; 
besides  the  wood-cuts  of  Perissim  and  Tortorel,  we 
know  of  some  historical  engravings — by  which  we 
understand  engravings  of  battles,  victories,  or  any 
actions  of  a  people  or  a  sovereign — signed  by  Thomas 
de  Leu,  Leonard  Gualtier,  or  Pierre  Firens.  "  The 
Consecration  of  Louis  XIII.  in  the  Cathedral  of 
Rheims,"  "  The  Consecration  of  Marie  de  Medicis," 
"  Henry  IY.  laying  hands  on  those  afflicted  with  the 
King's  Evil,"  and  a  good  many  unsigned  engravings 
of  the  same  kind  are  of  real  skill  and  rare  correct- 


ENGRAVING    IN    FKANCE.  245 

ness ;  and  in  addition  to  the  interest  which  always 
attaches  to  a  contemporary  representation  of  an  his- 
torical event,  they  are  of  value  on  account  of  their 
artistic  composition  and  practical  ability. 

Up  to  this  period  we  have  not  found  France  tak- 
ing the  initiative  in  the  art  of  engraving.  Even 
when  in  the  hands  of  the  best  masters,  French  art 
had  hitherto  remained  under  Flemish,  Italian,  or 
other  foreign  influence.  But  with  the  reign  of  Louis 
XIII.  a  new  era  commenced  for  her ;  it  was  then  her 
turn  to  take  the  lead,  and  to  give  both  lessons  and 
masters  to  foreign  countries.  Artists  anxious  to  com- 
plete their  education,  or  to  establish  their  reputation, 
hurried  to  France  from  every  side.  She  developed 
talents  and  gave  lustre  to  reputations  already  ac- 
quired. Her  influence  on  art  itself  was  ever  on  the 
increase,  and  even  now  fresh  successes  are  constantly 
proving  that  she  still  retains  the  preeminence  she 
then  attained. 

Jacques  Callot,  born  in  Lorraine,  was  influenced 
by  no  one.  His  genius  was  thoroughly  French,  his 
style  entirely  original,  and  he  therefore  occupies  an 
exceptional  position  in  the  history  of  art.  His  life 
was  strange  and  worth  relating.  He  was  born  at 
Nancy,  in  1592 ;  at  twelve  years  old  he  set  off  secret- 
ly for  Rome  with  a  band  of  gypsies^,  but  being  recog- 
nized on  the  road  by  a  merchant  of  Nancy,  he  was 
brought  back  to  his  family  and  remained  some  time 
in  his  native  town.  He  again  tried  to  escape,  and 
was  again  brought  back  by  his  elder  brother,  who 


246  WONDKK8   OF   ENGRAVING. 

met  him  in  a  street  of  Turin.  This  perseverance 
convinced  his  parents  that  resistance  was  useless,  and 
they  decided  to  yield  to  his  inclinations,  and  to  tend 
their  young  son  to  Rome,  a  favorable  opportunity 
presenting  itself.  This  soon  occurred.  In  1609  an 
ambassador,  accredited  to  the  Pope  by  Henry  II.,  of 
Lorraine,  was  willing  to  take  charge  of  Jacques  Cal- 
lot,  who  had  already  given  proof  of  exceptional  abil- 
ity in  a  few  engravings.  His  stay  in  Rome  decided 
his  fate.  When  in  the  Eternal  City  he  is  said  to  have 
at  tirst  followed  the  lessons  of  Ant.  Tempesta,  proba- 
bly with  his  fellow-countrymen,  Israel  Henriet  and 
Claude  Deniet,  who  arrived  before  him.  If  he  did 
join  this  studio  he  could  not  have  remained  there 
long,  for  we  find  no  trace  of  the  lessons  he  received  in 
it,  and  the  best-informed  biographers  say  that  Phi- 
lippe Thomassin,  a  French  engraver  who  had  been 
established  in  Rome  for  many  years  before  Callot's 
arrival,  was  his  first  master.  Callot  began  with  the 
study  of  line-engraving.  In  this  style  he  executed 
several  plates,  wyhich  show  the  influence  and  recall 
the  manner  of  Thomassin  ;  but  as  soon  as  he  became 
master  of  the  process  and  was  left  to  himself,  he 
threw  off  this  control  and  acquired  the  entirely  origi- 
nal style  which  he  never  again  lost.  Callot  remained 
for  some  time  at  Florence,  and  was  noticed  by  Cosmo 
II.  de  Medici,  who  retained  him  near  him  and  en- 
trusted him  with  the  engraving  of  "  The  Funeral  of 
the  Queen  of  Spain."  He  acquitted  himself  credit- 
ably of  this  commission,  and  this  first  important 


ENGRAVING   IN   FRANCE.  247 

work  gave  him  considerable  reputation,  which  was 
increased  and  established  by  a  successful  invention. 
He  wished  to  give  up  line-engraving,  and  find  some 
mode  of  working  better  suited  to  his  prolific  and  in- 
genious spirit,  to  his  ardent  and  vivid  imagination. 
Etching  had,  it  is  true,  been  already  practised  by 
Albert  Diirer,  Parmigiano,  and  a  few  other  artists, 
but  the  process  they  employed  was  inferior  and  un- 
certain. Callot  set  himself  to  work  to  bring  it  to 
perfection.  He  spread  a  thick  coat  of  varnish  on  a 
moderately  heated  plate,  thereby  obtaining  a  uni- 
formly even  surface,  upon  which  he  could  draw  as 
with  a  pen  on  paper.  His  genius  did  the  rest.  He 
entirely  discarded  the  graver,  never  again  to  use  any 
thing  but  the  needle  ;  he  executed  several  engravings 
of  this  kind -at  Florence,  and  returned  to  Lorraine  in 
1622,  preceded  by  a  brilliant  reputation.  He  then 
engraved  two  series  of  twelve  compositions,  called 
"  The  Aristocracy  "  (La  Noblesse),  and  "  The  Peo- 
ple "  (Les  Gueux),  in  which  were  displayed  all  his 
great  genius,  all  the  spirit  and  unprecedented  power 
of  his  needle.  He  came  to  Paris  in  1629,  and  there 
again  met  his  fellow-countryman  Israel  Henriet,  who 
was  a  trader  in  engravings,  and,  like  almost  all  mer- 
chants of  the  kind  at  that  time,  an  engraver  also.  In 
Paris  he  began  a  charming  portrait  of  a  celebrated 
collector  of  engravings,  Charles  Delorme,  which  he 
completed  the  next  year  at  Nancy. 

In   1633,  on    the  entry   of  Louis  XIII.  into  the 
chief  city  of  Lorraine,  our  engraver  attracted  notice 


24:8  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

by  his  proud  and  noble  patriotism.  The  king,  hav- 
ing heard  of  the  artist's  talent,  proposed  to  Callot 
that  lie  should  engrave  the  siege  of  Nancy.  He  re- 
fused without  hesitation,  and  his  answer  to  the  king 
has  been  transmitted  to  us  by  Felibien  in  his  own 
words:  "Sire,  I  am  .a  native  of  Lorraine,  and  I 
think  I  ought  to  do  nothing  against  the  honor  of  my 
prince  and  my  country."  He  testified  his  horror  of 
war  in  a  still  more  decided  manner  in  his  series  of 
fine  and  sarcastic  original  engravings  known  as  "  The 
Miseries  of  War."  In  eighteen  compositions,  all 
most  picturesque,  he  depicted  the  unheard-of  suffer- 
ings, the  fearful  tortures  his  fellow-countrymen  had 
been  made  to  endure  throughout  the  struggle.  Two 
years  later,  on  the  24th  of  March,  1635,  after  a  long 
illness,  during  which  he  produced  several  engravings,. 
Jacques  Callot  died,  leaving  no  children.  His  wife's 
name  was  Catherine  Puttinger.  A  tomb  worthy  of 
his  memory  was  raised  in  his  native  town,  and  an- 
other etcher,  Abraham  Bosse,  of  less  inventive  power, 
perhaps,  but  able  to  go  on  with  the  master's  work, 
has  left  us  an  engraving  of  this  mausoleum,  which 
has  the  following  inscription  in  the  centre :  "  A  la 
Posteiite.  Passant  jette  les  yeux  sur  cette  escriture, 
quand  tu  scauras  de  combien  mon  voyage  a  este  ad- 
vance, tu  ne  seras  pas  marri  que  ie  retarde  un  peu  le 
tien  :  Je  suis  Jacques  Calot,  ce  grand  et  excellent  cal- 
cographe,  qui  repose  en  ce  lieu  en  attandant  la  resur- 
rection des  corps.  Ma  naissance  fut  mediocre,  ma 
condition  noble,  ma  vie  courte  et  heureuse  ;  mais  ma 


Fig.  25  —Portrait  of  CLAUDE  DEBUET.    Etching  by  JACQUES  CALLOT. 


ENGRAVING   IN    FRANCE.  251 

renommee  a  este  et  sera  sans  pareille ;  personne  ne 
in'a  este  esgal  en  toute  sorte  de  perfection  pour  le 
dessein  et  la  graveure  sur  1'airain.  Toute  la  terre  a 
consenti  aux  louanges  extraordinaires  qui  men  out 
este  donnecs  sans  que  pour  cela  je  sois  jainais  sorti  de 
ma  modestie  naturelle.  Je  nasquis  a  Nancy,  1'annee 
1594,  et  mourus  aussi  a  Nancy  le  23e  Mars  1635,  au 
regret  iucroyable  de  la  Lorraine,  ma  patrie,  et  de 
tous  les  plus  rares  esprits  de  notre  siecle,  et  princi- 
palement  de  damoiselle  Catherine  Puttinger,  mon 
espouse  qui  pour  un  dernier  temoignage  d'amitie  in'a 
faict  dresser  ce  tombeau.  Prie  Dieu  pour  celuy  qui 
ne  te  priera  jamais  de  rien  et  passe." 

Abraham  Bosse  was  born  and  worked  at  the  same 
time  as  Jacques  Callot,  but  his  career  was  much  long- 
er. He  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  French  art- 
ists. His  numerous  works  give  most  authentic  his- 
torical information  on  the  costumes  and  manners  of 
the  time  of  Louis  XIII.  His  works  on  engraving 
and  architecture  show  an  erudition  rare  amongst  art- 
ists, and  give  us  information  on  the  state  of  art  at  a 
time  when  treatises  by  the  trading  classes  were  cer- 
tainly not  common.  His  engravings  have  a  charm 
all  their  own,  independent  of  the  subject  represented. 
We  must,  however,  make  one  reservation  in  our  favor- 
able notice.  Although  in  his  "  Treatise  on  Engrav- 
ing" Abraham  Bosse  testifies  the  truest  respect  for 
Callot's  invention,  he  unfortunately  did  not  follow  the 
example  of  that  master.  Instead  of  merely  using  the 
needle  on  copper,  like  a  pen  on  paper,  he  too  often 


252  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

tried  to  imitate  the  strokes  of  the  graver  ;  in  spite  of 
this,  however,  his  drawing  was  always  spirited,  and 
his  compositions  were  generally  well  arranged.  In 
his  charming  series  of  costumes  engraved  after  the 
designs  of  the  witty  artist  of  Normandy,  Jean  de 
Saint-Igny,  who  himself  engraved  a  few  plates,  Bosse 
lias  proved  that  it  was  from  choice,  not  from  incom- 
petency,  that  he  had  recourse  to  the  graver  ;  and  the 
freely-executed  plates  of  these  two  series  should  be 
reckoned  among  his  best  works. 

Like  most  really  original  artists,  Jacques  Callot 
had  no  immediate  pupils,  properly  so  called.  His 
manner  was  attractive  to  a  great  many  artists,  but 
not  one  took  direct  lessons  from  the  Lorraine  master. 
Claude  Dernet  alone  may  have  received  advice  from 
him  ;  but  he  was  a  painter,  and  only  engraved  three 
plates,  which  show  the  influence,  but  scarcely  the 
actual  intervention,  of  Callot.  Nicolas  Cochin,  the 
elder,  engraved  the  backgrounds  of  their  compositions 
for  different  engravers,  and  evidently  wished  to  imi- 
tate in  them  the  manner  of  Callot,  but  he  did  not 
attain  to  any  thing  like  the  same  delicacy  of  hand- 
ling. Stefano  della  Bella,  although  born  at  Florence 
and  educated  in  Italy,  was  far  more  influenced  by 
the  engravings  of  the  Lorraine  master  executed  in 
Florence,  than  by  the  more  majestic  works  of  his 
fellow-countrymen.  His  works,  prettily  conceived 
and  delicately  executed,  are  all  of  small  subjects ; 
and  when  we  say  that  they  remind  us  of  Jacques 
Callot,  we  are  giving  them  the  highest  praise. 


EXGEAYING    IN    FRANCE.  255 

Sebastian  Leclerc  flourished  later  ;  he  was  born  at 
Metz  on  the  26th  of  September,  1637,  and  died  in 
Paris  on  the  25th  of  October,  1714.  He  neverthe- 
less preserved  the  remembrance  of  Callot,  and  in  his 
small  original  engravings  of  costumes  he  often  re- 
minds us  of  the  master  whom  France  so  justly  counts 
among  her  most  illustrious  children. 

Lorraine  gave  birth  to  another  of  the  most  cele- 
brated engravers  of  the  seventeenth  century.  He 
was  a  painter,  and  only  used  the  needle  occasionally  ; 
but  when  he  did  employ  it  he  produced  masterpieces. 
Claude  Gellee,  better  known  as  Claude  Lorraine,  pro- 
duced some  etchings  which  have  all  the  qualities  of 
his  paintings.  He  distributed  the  light  and  diffused 
the  air  in  his  landscapes  with  unrivalled  success.  His 
two  chief  engravings,  the  "  Sunrise,"  and  the  "  Cow- 
herd," are  excellent  models  for  modem  etchers  of 
landscapes.  With  the  same  easy  grace  his  needle  has 
rendered  the  lucid  water,  the  solid  buildings,  the 
leaves  quivering  in  the  wind  ;  the  air  seems  to  per- 
vade every  thing ;  the  artist  engraved  as  he  would 
have  painted  without  caring  about  correct  strokes 
and  neat  outlines.  He  softens  the  tones  before  him 
whilst  faithfully  rendering  them,  he  takes  his  inspira- 
tion direct  from  nature,  and  his  poetic  spirit  does  the 
re.-t.  At  no  time  has  landscape  been  treated  with 
such  majesty,  grace,  and  bold  simplicity  ;  and  wheth- 
er he  be  considered  as  a  painter  or  as  an  engraver 
Claude  Lorraine  is  undoubtedly  the  greatest  inter- 
preter of  nature  the  world  has  ever  produced. 


256  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

Claude  Gellee  stands  alone  in  the  French  school. 
The  few  imitators  he  had  remained  far  behind  their 
master.  Attention  was  called  in  another  direction, 
and  engravers  preferred  to  reproduce  the  works  of 
Simon  Vouet,  a  figure-painter,  who  was  then  much 
sought  after.  When  young,  this  artist  had  travelled 
a  great  deal  in  England,  Turkey,  and  Italy,  and  on 
his  return  to  France  he  soon  became  so  famous,  that 
his  reputation  spread  to  the  court,  and  Louis  XIII. 
wished  to  receive  lessons  in  drawing  from  a  master 
of  such  renown.  We  can  imagine  how  much  this 
honor  added  to  the  painter's  popularity.  Orders 
flowed  into  Youet's  studio  from  all  sides.  All  the 
great  nobles  were  anxious  to  possess  paintings  by 
him,  or  wished  him  to  decorate  their  palaces  and 
reception-rooms.  Engravers,  always  attracted  by  a 
painter's  success,  hastened  to  multiply  his  works. 
Simon  Vouet  himself  did  not  scorn  the  needle,  he 
etched  two  plates,  "David  and  Goliath"  and  "The 
Virgin  and  the  Infant  Jesus,  to  whom  St.  Joseph  is 
presenting  a  bird,"  which  we  must  own  cannot  have 
contributed  much  to  his  renown.  However,  if  he 
himself  produced  few  engravings,  the  husbands  of  his 
two  daughters,  Michel  Dorigny  and  Francois  Torte- 
bat,  seemed  to  have  devoted  their  existence  to  spread- 
ing the  renown  of  their  father-in-law.  Of  these  two 
painter-engravers,  Michel  Doriguy  was  by  far  the 
more  skilful ;  his  easy  and  sometimes  bold  needle 
rendered  the  limpid  coloring  and  the  occasionally 
incorrect  drawing  of  Simon  Vouet  with  remarkable 


ENGRAVING   IN   FEANCE.  257 

fidelity.  He  represented  almost  all  the  important 
compositions  of  the  painter  with  scrupulous  exact- 
ness ;  indeed,  so  great  was  Simon  Vouet's  influence 
over  his  son-in-law,  that  Dorigny's  original  paintings 
were  mere  fac-si miles  of  his.  Tortebat's  style  was 
more  decided — less  docile  and  less  plastic.  His  needle 
was  heavy,  his  engravings  almost  without  charm. 
His  first  signed  prints  hear  date  1664,  his  last  1668. 
He  evidently  soon  gave  up  engraving  to  devote  him- 
self entirely  to  painting. 

Francois  Perrier,  Pierre  Daret,  Michel  Lasne,  and 
Claude  Mellan  also  belonged  to  the  school  of  Vouet 
and  were  influenced  by  him.  Each  one,  however, 
had  his  own  peculiar  style  of  engraving.  Francois 
Perrier,  whose  best  piece  is  the  portrait  of  Simon 
Vouet,  was  a  painter  also.  His  othsr  numerous  en- 
gravings are  often  poor,  and  fail  to  render  the  soft- 
ness of  the  paintings  of  the  French  school  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  sixteenth  century.  We  have  already 
spoken  of  Daret,  Lasne,  and  Mellan,  amongst  the 
engravers  of  crayons.  We  shall  not  review  them 
again  ;  the  blame  or  praise  already  awarded  applies 
equally  to  their  line-engravings  after  Vouet  or  his 
imitators.  We  merely  state  that  we  consider  the 
esteem  in  which  the  works  of  these  engravers  are  held 
is  somewhat  exaggerated.  Laurent  de  la  Hyre  and 
Francois  Chanveau  did  not  resist  the  influence  of  the 
all-powerful  master,  but  they  freed  themselves  in  a 
measure  from  the  yoke  which  oppressed  the  French 
school,  and  showed  their  independence  in  some  en- 


258  WONDLRS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

gravings  of  exaggerated  elegance,  which  remind  us 
of  the  school  of  Fontahieblean.  They  both  employed 
etching;  Laurent  do  la  Hyre  used  almost  too  fine  and 
thin  a  needle,  and  Chauveau  cut  into  the  copper  rather 
too  vigorously.  He  wasted  his  powers  also  in  work- 
ing for  publishers  who  were  anxious  to  profit  by  his 
proficiency,  which  was  really  great,  and  who  cared 
more  that  he  should  produce  many  works,  than  good 
ones  requiring  care  and  reflection. 

Whilst  engraving  in  Paris  was  assuming  a  new 
and  independent  style,  a  similar  movement  was  going 
on  in  the  provinces.  On  all  sides  French  engravers 
arose  who  were  decidedly  original,  although  their 
drawing  was  not  very  pure  or  their  ideas  on  art  very 
refined.  At  Tours,  Claude  Yignon  engraved  a  con- 
siderable number  of  plates,  the  etching  of  which  is 
beautiful  in  spite  of  the  inferior  taste  and  style.  At 
Nancy,  Jacques  Bellange  carried  exaggeration  of  style 
to  its  utmost  limits,  but  his  manner  of  engraving  was 
very  easy  and  agreeable.  At  Mantes,  Pierre  P>re- 
biette  produced  some  light  and  spirited  engravings ; 
at  Toulouse,  the  painter  and  poet  Hilaire  Pader  drew 
some  original  designs  on  copper,  and  published  a 
translation  of  the  "Treatise  on  the  Proportions  of  the 
Human  Body,"  by  Giovanni  Pablo  Lomazzo,  and  a 
strange  book  called  "The  enigmatical  Dream  of  the 
Speaking  Picture "  (Le  Fonge  cnigmatique  de  la 
Peinture  Parlante).  At  Chateaudun,  Nicolas  Clia- 
pron  transferred  to  metal  some  designs  he  had  exe- 
cuted in  Rome  after  the  paintings  of  Raphael  in  the 


ENGRAVING   IN   FRANCE.  259 

loggie  of  the  Vatican,  he  appears  to  have  understood 
these  great  works  better  than  any  artist  who  has,  as 
jet,  arisen  ;  at  Aries,  Nicolas  Delafage  engraved  in  a 
t>tvle  somewhat  like  that  of  Italy  in  the  seventeenth 
century  ;  his  figures  of  the  Virgin  are  skilfully  exe- 
cuted, but  they  are  not  very  remarkable.  Indeed  we 
might  find  one  or  two  artists  in  almost  every  province 
•who  successfully  employed  engraving  which  had  now 
become  acclimatized  in  France. 

But  all  th!s  provincial  enthusiasm  was  not  enough. 
Art  requires  a  higher  education  than  all  France  could 
give  to  achieve  any  great  success;  and,  therefore,  art- 
ists who  had  their  reputation  at  heart  nocked  to  Italy, 
the  great  and  inexhaustible  centre  of  the  arts,  to  study 
at  Rome  those  masterpieces  of  antiquity  and  of  the 
Renaissance,  which  remained  to  testify  to  her  former 
grandeur. 

The  greater  number  of  these  artists  remained 
some  years  in  Rome.  Others  established  themselves 
there  permanently  ;  among  the  latter  was  the  immor- 
tal Nicolas  Poussin,  the  greatest  artist  France  has 
ever  produced.  As  a  painter  he  does  not  come  with- 
in the  range  of  our  criticism,  but  his  distinguishing 
qualities  have  been  rendered  with  such  fidelity  by 
some  engravers  that  we  may  form  a  really  just  idea  of 
his  talent  by  examining  plates  after  his  celebrated 
compositions  ;  and  this  we  think  is  not  the  case  with 
any  other  master.  It  is  because  the  beauty  of  his 
works  consists  in  the  arrangement  and  style  of  his 
figures,  in  the  grandeur  of  the  lines,  and  the  expres- 


260  WONDKK8   OF   ENGRAVING. 

sion  of  the  faces  and  gestures  rather  than  in  the  com- 
position or  the  coloring'.  We  are  aware  that  the  mas- 
ter used  a  red  preparation  for  his  canvases,  which 
from  the  first  injured  his  colors,  and  gave  them  the 
sober,  gloomy,  sad  appearance  which  they  still  retain  ; 
the  engraver  had  not  to  contend  with  the  different 
tints,  as  he  could  but  express  general  harmony  by 
means  of  black  and  white,  and  he  has,  therefore, 
transmitted  the  master's  compositions  to  us  with  all 
their  spirit  and  feeling,  without  the  unfortunate  ob- 
scurity which  often  prevents  our  grasping  the  mean- 
ing of  the  originals  all  at  once.  Jean  Pesne  devoted 
himself  to  the  reproduction  of  Poussin's  works,  ren- 
dering to  the  French  master  the  same  good  service 
that  Marc-Antonio  did  to  Raphael,  with  the  difference 
that  he  worked  from  paintings,  and  the  engraver  of 
Bologna  from  drawing,  only.  Jean  Pesne  worked 
with  docility  under  the  eyes  of  the  master,  and  was 
well  instructed  in  all  the  resources  of  engraving.  He 
obtained  excellent  results  by  means  of  etching  alone. 
His  style  is  bold  and  sure,  never  pedantic  or  labored  ; 
he  was  as  much  at  his  ease  on  copper  as  on  paper, 
proving  afresh  that  it  is  necessary  to  excel  in  drawing 
before  excelling  in  engraving.  To  Pesne  we  are  in- 
debted for  rendering  Poussin's  works  in  all  their 
majestic  beauty.  He  was  equally  successful  with 
subjects  of  every  variety.  He  is  never  inferior  to 
his  model,  whether  he  is  engraving  the  "  Seven  Sacra- 
ments," the  "  Trance  of  St.  Paul,"  or  the  "  Triumph 
of  Galatea."  He  pays  untiring  attention  to  the  cor- 


EXGKAVING   IN    FRANCE.  263 

rectness  of  the  figures  or  objects,  and  gives  us  a  faith- 
ful copy  of  the  painting  before  him,  thinking  far 
more  of  exactly  rendering  the  master's  work  than  of 
parading  his  own  manual  skill. 

How  rare  are  these  conscientious  copies  !  how  few 
instances  of  them  are  furnished  by  history  !  Nicolas 
Poussin  was  one  of  those  painters  who  best  inspired 
engravers. 

Gerard  Audran,  the  most  skilful  draughtsman  of 
the  French  school,  and  evidently  a  master  of  draw- 
ing, engraved  the  best  work  of  Nicolas  Poussin,  which 
may  perhaps  also  be  considered  a  wonder  of  engrav- 
ing. "  Time  disclosing  Truth  "  is  a  magnificent  com- 
position in  which  the  painter  put  forth  all  his  powers 
to  prove  the  injustice  of  his  contemporaries  towards 
him,  and  it  found  an  admirable  interpreter  in  Gerard 
Audran.  "  Using  by  turns  the  needle  and  the  grav- 
iug-tool,  he  seems,"  says  M.  Denon,  "  to  have  em- 
ployed these  two  instruments  to  supplement  each 
other  like  the  different  tints  under  a  painter's  brush." 
The  work  is  in  fact  so  beautifully  blended  together, 
that  in  looking  at  it  we  see  the  composition  only,  and 
forget  until  we  examine  it  closely  that  the  engraver's 
skill  must  almost  have  equalled  that  of  the  painter, 
for  him  to  have  rendered  so  faithfully  the  work  he 
had  undertaken.  Although  Gerard  Audran  only  oc- 
casionally placed  his  talent  at  the  service  of  Nicolas 
Poussin,  and  produced  very  few  engravings  after  that 
master,  he  must  still  be  classed  with  Jean  Pesne,  and 
a  female  artist,  of  whom  we  shall  presently  speak, 


261  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

amongst  the  chief  of  the  engravers  who  took  their 
inspiration  from  Poussin's  works. 

.  Claudine  Stella,  niece  of  the  painter,  Jacques 
Stella,  was  born  at  Lyons  in  1634,  and  died  at  Paris 
in  1697.  It  is  rare  to  find  a  woman,  even  among  the 
most  highly  gifted,  with  sufficient  strength  of  mind 
to  identify  herself  entirely  with  work  of  an  exalted 
kind,  more  especially  when  that  work  requires  an 
extended  education  and  a  knowledge  of  the  human 
mind  such  as  in  our  present  state  of  civilization  is 
usually  monopolized  by  man.  The  genius  of  Pous- 
sin  was  of  a  masculine  type,  and  therefore  Claudine 
Stella's  engravings  after  his  works  may  be  considered 
the  more  extraordinary.  Indeed,  they  show  great 
knowledge  of  drawing,  and  positively  manly  energy, 
and  the  execution  is  so  easy  that  Wattelet  has  not 
hesitated  to  say,  "  No  man  understood  Poussin's  true 
character  as  did  Claudine  Stella."  This  statement 
appears  to  us  exaggerated,  because  we  know  the 
engravings  of  J.  Pesne  and  Gerard  Audran ;  it  is, 
however,  partly  justified  by  the  "  Striking  of  the 
Rock,"  after  a  picture  which  once  formed  part  "ex 
Musgeo  Anth.  Stella,  Parisiis."  This  plate,  repro- 
ducing one  of  Poussin's  most  important  compositions, 
interprets  the  painting  as  faithfully  as  possible.  The 
sad  expression  of  the  weary  longing  to  quench  their 
thirst,  the  joyful  looks  of  those  who  feel  their  spirit 
returning  to  them,  are  rendered  with  sui-prising  exact- 
ness ;  and,  but  that  the  work  in  the  first  proof  was 
rather  too  metallic,  we  should  unreservedly  agree 


ENGKAVISU   IN   FRANCE.  265 

with  Wattelet  that  "  Claudine  Stella  excelled  all  en- 
gravers in  rendering  Ponssin's  coloring." 

"We  have  now  named  the  chief  engravers  after 
Poussin,  but  we  should  not  be  doing  justice  to  his 
influence  on  the  French  school  if  we  confined  our 
notice  to  works  inspired  directly  by  his  compositions. 
His  pictures  have  never  ceased  to  guide  artists  in 
search  of  beauty  and  grandeur  of  style,  and  even 
now  many  an  excellent  engraving  takes  its  inspira- 
tion from  Poussin's  works.  Giovanni  Dughet,  Pous- 
sin's  brother-in-law,  engraved  his  compositions,  of 
which  works  the  best  is  the  "  Assumption  of  the 
Virgin."  The  Chevalier  Avice,  of  noble  birth  and 
an  artist  by  choice,  showed  talent  in  his  engraving 
of  the  "  Adoration  of  the  Magi  "  after  the  painting 
in  the  Museum  of  the  Louvre,  and  in  a  "  Group  of 
Cupids  playing  on  the  borders  of  a  forest."  "  The 
Martyrdom  of  St.  Bartholomew,"  engraved  by  Jean 
Couvay,  shows  more  skilTin  handling  the  graver  than 
in  interpreting  Poussin  ;  "  The  Baptism  of  Christ " 
by  Louis  de  Chatillon  happily  renders  the  appearance 
of  the  picture.  Gerard  Edelinck,  whose  works  are 
generally  worthy  of  all  praise,  and  who  was  usually 
most  skilful,  failed  to  obtain  his  ordinary  success 
in  his  engraving  of  the  "  Annunciation  ; "  finally, 
Etienne  Gantrel,  Jean  Lenfant,  Etienne  Baudet,  An- 
toine  Gamier,  Michel  Natalis,  Jean  No!  in,  Pierre 
Yan  Somer,  and  many  others  often  took  their  inspi- 
ration from  Nicolas  Poussin,  and  were  only  worthy 
of  notice  when  they  had  the  good  taste  to  follow  that 


2G6  WONDERS  or  ENGRAVING. 

master.  Many  an  engraver  who  cannot  produce  a 
good  original  plate,  will  execute  a  remarkable  work 
with  an  excellent  model  before  him. 

Nicolas  Ponssin  certainly  exercised  a  most  useful 
and  lasting  influence  on  the  French  school.  Imper- 
fect as  they  were,  we  must  notice  the  efforts  of  those 
artists  who  tried  to  restore  the  art  winch  must  always 
conform  to  the  eternal  laws  of  beauty.  They  called 
Ponssin's  works  to  their  aid  in  their  endeavor  to 
check  the  universal  spread  of  bad  taste  and  evil  ten- 
dencies. Peyron  thought  he  could  not  better  illus- 
trate his  notions  of  reform  than  by  recommending 
the  admirable  design  "  The  Daughters  of  Jethro  " 
as  a  model  for  beginners,  and  an  example  for  mas- 
ters. This  was  but  just  homage  to  the  artist  who  so 
successfully  studied  antiquity.  It  would  be  unjust 
not  to  refer  the  origin  of  the  Renaissance,  of  which 
we  are  speaking,  to  the  greatest  master  of  the  French 
school.  Engraving  also,  though  led  astray  for  a  time 
by  frivolous,  though  often  witty  compositions,  began  to 
aspire  to  higher  works ;  and  M.  Boucher-Desnoyers, 
to  quote  one  amongst  many  contemporary  engravers, 
has  skilfully  executed  a  plate,  "  Eliczer  and  Rebecca," 
a  splendidly  treated  subject,  which  will  always  be 
admired  by  those  who  understand  art. 

A  number  of  second-rate  artists  in  the  beginning 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  whose  works  still  deserve 
mention,  arose  at  the  same  time  as  these  gifted  mas- 
ters, with  their  lofty  ideal ;  these  men  devoted  their 
talent  to  preserving  the  memory  of  important  histor- 


ENGRAVING    IX    FKAXCE.  2G7 

ical  events,  they  copied  the  splendid  castles  of  their 
day  in  order  to  bequeath  authentic  records  of  the 
dominant  taste  of  their  own  age  to  their  descendants. 
They  are,  of  course,  more  interesting  to  the  historian 
than  to  the  artist,  but  are  of  some  artistic  value  also 
on  account  of  the  information  they  give  about  their 
authors.  It'  the  work  be  badly  engraved  the  intelli- 
gence conveyed  in  it  is  probably  incorrect.  If  it  be 
signed  by  an  artist  of  talent  it  is  most  likely  a  trust- 
worthy representation  of  the  monument  or  fact  de- 
picted. We  value  highly  the  historical  compositions 
of  Crispin  de  Passe,  Heli  Dubois,  Jacques  Callot, 
and  Abraham  Bosse,  on  account  of  the  celebrity  of 
their  authors.  The  last-named,  of  whom  we  have 
before  spoken,  was  the  most  zealous  of  all  in  work- 
ing at  the  history  and  manners  of  his  time.  An  his- 
torian of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIII.  would  lose  much 
valuable  information  if  he  neglected  to  look  carefully 
through  the  numerous  works  of  this  engraver. 

It  would  be  the  same  with  any  one  who  should 
attempt  to  give  a  history  of  French  architecture,  and 
ignore  the  engravings  of  Claude  Chatillon,  Israel* 
Silvestre,  or  of  Gabriel  Perelle,  three  artists  who 
devoted  their  lives  to  copying,  the  royal  mansions  and 
principal  castles  of  France.  Their  order  of  talent 
was  different,  but  their  works  are  all  executed  with 
a  conscientiousness  for  which  they  are  justly  valued. 
Claude  Chatillon's  engravings  of  views  of  the  "Hotel 
de  Ville  of  Paris,"  of  the  "  Hospital  of  St.  Louis," 
of  the  "  Hotel  de  Severs,"  "  The  Place  Dauphine." 


268  WONDEKS    OF   ENGRAVIKG. 

and  "The  Sainte  Chapelle,"  show  us  exactly  the  early- 
state  of  these  monuments  now  destroyed  or  altered. 
By  means  of  the  delicate  and  spirited  engravings  of 
Israel  Silvestre  we  are  well  acquainted  writh  "  Rain- 
bouillet,  near  the  Gate  of  St.  Antoine,"  the  property 
of  the  father-in-law  of  Tallament  des  Reaux,  with 
the  "  Old  Chamher  of  the  Peers,"  and  the  "  Church 
and  Cemetery  of  the  Innocents  at  Paris  ;  "  and  Ga- 
briel Perelle,  whose  etching  is  less  picturesque,  but 
equally  faithful,  has  preserved  the  memory  of  many 
lost  monuments,  and  enabled  us  to  fancy  the  original 
state  of  many  grand  residences,  which  are  now  either 
mutilated  or  fallen  from  their  first  estate. 

Whilst  engraving  was  falling  into  the  hands  of 
inferior  artists,  and  losing  its  high  position  every- 
where except  in  Flanders  and  Holland,  French  artists 
were  proving  themselves  more  original  than  ever, 
and  forcing  their  way  up  to  that  high  position  from 
which  they  have  never  since  receded.  That  great 
master,  Gerard  Audran,  of  whom  we  have  previously 
spoken,  was  at  the  head  of  the  school.  He  belonged 
to  a  family  of  artists,  and  learnt  the  first  elements  of 
his  art  in  the  paternal  house.  His  father,  Claude 
Audran,  was  but  an  inferior  engraver,  but  fortunately 
he  knew  enough  to  guide  a  beginner.  It  was  under 
his  direction  that  Gerard  produced  his  first  engrav- 
ings which  showed  no  decided  taste,  and  gave  no  hint 
of  the  future  works  which  were  to  come  from  the 
master's  hand.  A  visit  to  Italy  in  early  life  settled 
his  taste  and  expanded  his  mind.  When  he  went  to 


ENGRAVING    EST    FRANCE.  269 

Rome  lie  already  knew  enough  of  drawing  to  appre- 
ciate the  works  he  saw  there,  and  he  had  acquired 
sufficient  skill  in  using  the  graver  to  be  able  at  once 
to  set  to  work  profitably.  Although  he  had  gained 
admission  to  the  studio  of  Carlo  Haratti,  he  chiefly 
copied  antique  statues  and  the  works  of  great  mas- 
ters, and  we  can  imagine  that  this  style  of  working 
improved  him  more  than  the  lessons  of  his  teacher. 

During  his  stay  in  Rome,  and  whilst  following 
the  lessons  of  Carlo  Maratti,  and  drawing  in  the 
galleries,  Gerard  Audran  found  time  to  engrave  a 
charming  portrait  of  Jorclanus  Hilling,  a  ceiling 
painted  by  Pietro  da  Cortona  in  the  Sacchetti  Palace, 
another  ceiling  by  the  same  artist  in  the  Pamphili 
Gallery,  and  four  plates  after  "Domenichino,  "  David 
dancing  before  the  Ark,"  "  Judith  showing  the  head 
of  Holofernes  to  the  People,"  "  Esther  before  Ahasu- 
erus,"  and  "  Solomon  making  Bathsheba  sit  upon  his 
Throne."  As  they  were  executed  with  talent  these 
engravings  drew  attention  in  France  to  their  author, 
and  on  his  return  he  was  at  once  chosen  by  Lebrun 
to  engrave  the  series  of  the  "  Battles  of  Alexander," 
which  the  first  painter  of  the  king  had  just  finished. 
Perhaps  no  artist  had  ever  been  more  worthy  of  a 
painter's  confidence.  Full  of  earnestness  and  enthu- 
siasm, Gerard  Audran  set  to  work  without  delay, 
and  at  the  end  of  six  years  he  had  accomplished  this 
really  gigantic  task  (1 672-1678).  He  employed  line- 
engraving  and  etching  alternately,  and  has  rendered 
the  original  paintings  with  such  fidelity  that  we  can 


270  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

still  estimate  them  at  their  true  value,  although  time 
has  almost  entirely  destroyed  their  power  arid  har- 
mony. At  the  same  time  that  he  was  transferring 
these  celebrated  compositions  to  metal  he  finished  the 
"  Pyrrhus  saved,"  after  Nicolas  Poussin,  an  admirable 
engraving  which  procured  for  him  the  title  of  Mem- 
ber of  the  French  Academy,  1674.  A  few  years 
later  he  attained  the  highest  rank  in  this  illustrious 
society  which  is  possible  to  an  engraver,  he  was 
named  Counsellor.  But  instead  of  abating,  his  ac- 
tivity was  ever  on  the  increase,  and  his  talent  be- 
ing now  fully  developed  all  his  works  were  master- 
pieces. 

In  addition  to  the  engravings  we  have  named 
after  Poussin  and  Charles  Lebrun,  we  must  mention 
as  exceptionally  superior  works  by  Gerard  Audran, 
"The  Burning  Bush,"  after  Raphael;  "The  Mar- 
tyrdom of  St.  Gervais  and  St.  Protais ;  "  "  The 
Aurora ;  "  and  "  The  Martyrdom  of  St.  Lawrence," 
after  Eustache  Lesueur  ;  "  The  Plague  of  Egina  ;  " 
"The  Cupola  of  the  Yal  de  Grace;"  and  "The 
Ceiling  of  the  King's  Chamber  at  Versailles,"  after 
Pierre  Mignard.  A  few  engravings  after  the  statues 
of  Michel  Anguier,  Gaspard  de  Marsy,  and  Girardon, 
close  our  list  of  this  indefatigable  artist's  excellent 
works.  Until  his  death  at  Paris  on  the  26th  of  July, 
1703,  Gerard  Audran  devoted  his  great  talent  to  the 
fine  arts.  We  have  also  a  treatise  embellished  with 
engravings  by  this  master  on  "The  Proportions  of 
the  Human  Body,  after  the  finest  Figures  of  An- 


ENGRAVING   IN    FRANCE.  271 

tiquity."  This  work  is  still  worthy  of  the  honor  in 
which  it  has  been  held  since  its  publication  (1683). 

Gerard  Edelinck,  Robert  ISTantenil,  and  Jean 
Morin,  superior  artists  of  surprising  ability,  worked 
at  the  same  time  as  Gerard  Andran.  They  addressed 
themselves  more  directly  to  the  works  of  Charles 
Lebrun.  Pierre  Mignard,  and  Philippe  de  Champagne ; 
but  they  did  not  confine  themselves  entirely  to  their 
paintings  or  designs. 

Gerard  Edelinck  was  born  at  Antwerp  in  1640, 
but  he  became  naturalized  in  France  by  spending  his 
entire  life  in  Paris,  and  by  his  acceptance  of  the  title 
of  member  of  the  Royal  Academy  there,  which  was 
bestowed  on  him  on  the  6th  of  March,  1677.  His 
works  are  of  such  equal  merit  that  it  is  difficult  to 
distinguish  the  earlier  from  the  later  engravings. 
However,  the  portrait  of  Madame  de  la  Valliere, 
which  was  published  by  Balthasar  Montcornet,  a 
publisher  of  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XI V., 
appears  to  us  to  have  been  one  of  Gerard  Edelinck's 
first  works ;  we  are  led  to  this  conclusion  both  by  the 
publisher's  imprint  on  the  engraving  and  also  by  a 
certain  harshness  of  execution  which  the  artist  would 
not  have  left  unaltered  had  his  powers  been  fully 
developed.  The  drawing  and  coloring  are,  neverthe- 
less, very  well  rendered.  We  can  only  speak  in  the 
highest  terms  of  the  great  number  of  Edelinck's  other 
engravings ;  it  would  take  us  too  long  to  enumerate 
all  his  masterpieces  ;  we  will  be  content  with  naming 
"The  Holy  Family,"  after  Raphael;  "The  Tent  of 


272  WONDEES   OF    ENGRAVING. 

Darius,"  after  Lebrun  ;  the  portraits  of  Charles  Le- 
brun,  Francois  Tortebat,  Hyacinthe  Rigaud,  Paul 
Tallemant,  John  Dryden,  Fagon,  Martin  Desjardins, 
and  Philippe  de  Champagne.  No  artist  succeeded 
better  in  truthfully  rendering  life  or  in  identifying 
himself  with  the  genius  of  others ;  Raphael  had  no 
more  skilful  interpreter,  and  the  painters  of  the  reign 
of  Louis  XIV.  gained  greater  renown  through  Ede- 
linck's  superior  engravings  of  their  works  than  they 
would  probably  have  done  by  their  own  unseconded 
efforts. 

Robert  Nanteuil,  who  lived  near  Gerard  Edelinck, 
usually  drew  the  designs  for  his  own  engravings. 
Many  of  his  portraits  have  come  down  to  us.  Being 
a  very  skilful  designer,  he,  of  course,  easily  transferred 
his  happy  likenesses  to  copper.  He  could  not  give 
the  same  vivid  and  powerful  coloring  as  Edelinck, 
but  his  manual  dexterity  was  quite  as  great.  He  did 
not  at  once  acquire  this  skill  ;  before  he  produced  the 
masterpieces  which  earned  him  a  glorious  name,  he 
vacillated  a  long  time,  and  tried  to  discover  in  the 
works  of  his  predecessors  how  he  could  best  give 
expression  to  all  that  he  felt  within  him  ;  now  he 
employed  stippling,  as  in  the  engravings  of  Jean 
Boulanger ;  now,  like  Claude  Mellan,  he  used  single 
strokes  with  cross-hatching ;  at  intervals  again,  he 
tried  careful  cross-hatching,  following  the  outlines,  like 
his  master  and  fellow-countryman,  Nicolas  Regnesson  ; 
and  at  last  he  began  to  assume  his  own  individual 
style,  which  consisted  in  modelling  with  the  greatest 


ENGBAVESTG   IN   FKANCE.  273 

precision  every  shade  in  the  face,  and  employing 
different  kinds  of  work  for  the  other  parts  of  the 
engraving.  In  this  manner  he  engraved  the  portraits 
of  Fomponne  de  Bellievre,  Gilles  Menage,  Jean  Loret, 
Lamothe  le  Vayer,  of  the  Duchess  of  Nemours,  of 
J.  B.  Van  Steenberghen,  and  some  twenty  others,  all 
equally  perfect  and  admirable,  which  must  always 
continue  to  excite  the  admiration  of  artists  and  men 
of  taste. 

In  addition  to  the  esteem  in  which  Robert  Nan- 
teuil  is  held  on  account  of  his  works,  the  art  of  en- 
graving is  truly  indebted  to  him  for  the  celebrated 
Edict  of  1660,  dated  from  St.  Jean  de  Luz,  which  he 
obtained  from  Louis  XIV.  By  this  edict,  engraving 
was  declared  free  and  distinct  from  the  mechanical 
arts,  amongst  which  it  had  hitherto  been  unjustly 
confounded,  and  engravers,  delivered  from  thraldom, 
became  independent.  From  this  epoch  they  shared 
the  privileges  of  other  artists. 

The  engravers  of  whom  we  have  just  been  speak- 
ing employed  line-engraving  exclusively,  and  obtained 
marvellous  results  from  this  inadequate  process ; 
another  equally  celebrated  engraver,  however,  con- 
fined himself  almost  entirely  to  etching.  Jean  Morin 
took  lessons  of  Philippe  de  Champagne,  and  inter- 
preted his  paintings  better  than  any  of  his  contem- 
poraries. He  rendered  the  master's  taste  and  style 
without  sacrificing  his  own,  and  his  works  share  the 
calm  coloring  and  clearness  for  which  the  originals 
are  distinguished.  He  engraved  many  compositions 


274  WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 

and  landscapes,  but  he  succeeded  best  with  portraits, 
although  he  did  not,  like  Robert  Nanteuil,  give  most 
of  his  attention  to  them. 

He  was  a  devoted  admirer  of  Anthony  Vandyck, 
and  delighted  to  reproduce  his  portraits ;  he  partly 
borrowed  this  artist's  mode  of  engraving,  improving 
upon  it,  and  modifying  it  to  suit  French  taste.  Hav- 
ing ffiven  the  outline  and  chief  characteristics  of  the 

o    o 

face,  he  shaded  the  flesh  with  a  quantity  of  stippling, 
which,  being  mellowed  and  softened  by  the  acid,  pro- 
duced an  excellent  result ;  but  the  process  employed 
was  so  difficult  that  Anthony  Vandyck  and  Jean 
Morin  are  the  only  two  artists  who  succeeded  with  it. 
The  portraits  of  Cardinal  Bentivoglio,  the  master's 
best  work,  of  Antoine  Vitre,  of  the  Abbe  de  Riche- 
lieu, Marguerite  Lemon,  J.  F.  P.  de  Gondi,  N.  Chris- 
ty n,  and  all  the  plates  now  so  sought  after  of  this 
artist,  are  engraved  by  this  peculiar  process.  Some 
engravers  tried  to  imitate  Morin's  style,  but  not  one, 
not  even  Jean  Alix  or  Nicolas  de  Plattemontagne, 
who  were  nearest  to  it,  ever  really  succeeded  in  giv- 
"ing  the  combined  ease  and  firmness  which  make  the 
master's  portraits  real  masterpieces.  They  obtained 
counterfeits,  nothing  more,  they  missed  the  life-like- 
ness which  is  so  striking  in  Jean  Morin's  engravings. 

At  no  other  time  did  France  possess  a  greater 
number  of  good  engravers.  Besides  the  chief  masters, 
who  formed  the  public  taste,  there  were  many  of  less 
talent,  but  of  sufficient  ability  to  attract  the  attention 
of  amateurs  and  men  of  taste.  Francois  de  Poilly 


ENGRAVING    IN   FRANCK.  275 

engraved  the  "  Yierge  an  Linge,"  after  Raphael,  in  a 
very  praiseworthy  manner,  and  a  great  number  of 
portraits  after  French  artists,  which  prove  his  knowl- 
edge of  physiognomy  and  his  refined  taste.  Antoine 
Masson  carried  line-engraving  to  the  greatest  perfec- 
tion possible  ;  and  if  technical  skill  were  every  thing, 
he  might  take  one  of  the  highest  positions  in  the  his- 
tory of  art,  but  the  French  appreciate  rather  correct 
drawing  than  manual  dexterity  in  engraving,  and 
therefore  we  must  class  Antoine  Masson  amongst  sec- 
ondary artists,  and  the  only  work  of  his  to  be  recom- 
mended is  the  portrait  of  Brisacier,  which  is  certainly 
his  best  engraving  ;  it  is  less  labored  than  his  others, 
and  the  face  and  expression  are  much  better  rendered. 
Peter  "Van  Schuppen,  though  born  at  Antwerp  in 
1623,  lived  in  France.  He  had  very  great  ability,  but 
produced  no  exceptionally  good  works ;  all  his  en- 
gravings are  well  executed,  his  drawing  is  correct,  but 
the  style  is  not  very  exalted,  nor  is  there  real  origi- 
nality in  his  works.  Nicolas  Pitau  showed  more 
spirit  in  his  portrait  of  Benjamin  Prioli  than  in  any 
other  of  his  engravings.  In  this  plate  we  detect  the 
influence  of  his  fellow-countryman,  Gerard  Edelinck, 
and  a  faint  remembrance  of  the  great  school  inaugu- 
rated at  Antwerp  under  the  control  of  Rubens ;  Pierre 
Lombard,  bora  at  Paris,  also  yielded  to  the  influence 
of  Edelinck,  and  learnt  from  him  a  style  of  coloring 
which  suited  well  the  portraits  of  the  newsman  of 
Holland,  Lafond,  after  Henry  Gascard,  and  those 
after  Yandyck's  beautiful  works.  Autoine  Trouvain, 


276  WONDERS    OF   ENGRAVING. 

born  at  Montdidier  about  1666,  followed  the  same 
direction,  which  he  turned  to  good  account  in  his 
admirable  portrait  of  "  Rene  Antoine  Houasse,"  which 
obtained  him  the  title  of  Academician,  and  is  still 
considered  his  best  work.  Francois  Spierre  and  Jean 
Louis  Roullet  did  not  care  sufficiently  about  good 
drawing,  and  often  copied  worthless  works,  so  that 
they  did  not  become  as  famous  as  their  talent  for 
engraving  would  perhaps  otherwise  have  made  them. 
Spierre's  only  justly  valued  work  is  ''  The  Virgin  and 
the  Infant  Jesus,"  after  Correggio.  Boullet  is  rescued 
from  oblivion  by  his  portraits  of  "  Sully,"  and  of 
"  The  Marquis  de  Beringhen,"  after  Mignard,  and  that 
of  "  Cam.  Letellier,"  after  Largilliere. 

Some  of  the  best  painters  of  the  time  of  Louis 
XI Y.  did  not  scorn  to  employ  the  needle,  but  they 
produced  few  works  worthy  of  attention.  We  will, 
therefore,  review  them  rapidly.  Lebrun  produced 
some  etchings,  which  add  nothing  to  his  glory,  and 
remind  us  of  Youet.  Sebastien  Bourdon  was  in  turn 
attracted  by  the  artists  of  the  Roman  school  of  Parma 
and  of  Venice,  and  transferred  numerous  compositions 
to  copper,  betraying  the  influence  which  was  domi- 
nant at  the  time ;  but  though  his  style  varied,  his 
engraving  remained  obstinately  poor  and  cold. 

The  taste  in  Jacques  Stella's  engravings  is  inferior 
to  that  in  his  paintings.  The  latter  seemed  to  be 
inspired  by  the  lofty  ideal  and  the  refinement  of  form 
of  which  such  perfect  examples  are  seen  in  the  works 
of  Nicolas  Poussin,  whilst  his  etchings  are  hastily  and 


ENGRAVING    IN   FRANCE.  277 

boldly  conceived  in  a  style  not  unlike  that  of  Jacques 
Callot.  It'  an  authentic  signature  did  not  exclude  all 
doubt,  we  could  scarcely  believe  that  "  The  Ceremony 
of  Paying  Tribute  to  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany  "  is 
1'rom  the  hand  which  painted  the  beautiful  series  of 
"  The  Passion,"  the  designs  of  which  have  been  un- 
hesitatingly attributed  to  Nicolas  Poussin  by  a  mod- 
ern editor. 

Louis  de  Boullongne  and  Michel-Ange  Corneille 
followed  the  same  track  in  engraving  as  in  painting, 
and  gave  no  proofs  of  originality  in  either.  Their 
engravings,  like  their  paintings,  prove  their  great 
admiration  for  Poussin,  whilst  they  give  biit  a  poor 
opinion  of  their  own  imagination  or  knowledge. 
Simon  Guillain,  who  was  one  of  the  twelve  elders  of 
the  Academy  of  Painting,  has  left  but  one  engraving 
— "  The  Cries  of  Bologna,"  after  Annibal  Caracci ; 
and  something  more  would  be  required  to  give  him 
the  same  rank  as  an  engraver  which  he  holds  as  a 
painter. 

A  landscape  painter,  Francis  Millet,  engraved 
three  etchings,  which  are  now  very  rare,  and  are  quite 
worthy  of  his  paintings.  The  composition  is  superior, 
and  they  give  a  very  good  idea  of  the  scenery  round 
Rome.  The  artist's  needle,  like  his  brush,  has  ad- 
mirably rendered  the  noble  beauties  of  that  glorious 
neighborhood,  which  have  inspired  and  affected  so 
many  artists.  To  conclude,  Claude  Lefevre,  a  most 
talented  portrait  painter,  has  engraved  two  or  three 
compositions,  which  would  have  made  him  famous, 


278  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

even  if  his  paintings  did  not  exist.  His  own  portrait, 
executed  with  a  masterly  ease  which  reminds  us  of 
Vandyck,  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  the  engrav- 
ings of  the  French  school ;  indeed,  we  may  say,  one 
of  the  finest  portraits  ever  engraved  in  any  country. 

It  was  during  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  that  Mezzo- 
tint Engraving,  invented  by  Louis  of  Siegen,  was 
most  successfully  practised  in  France.  The  novelty 
of  the  discovery  and  the  valuable  results  attainable 
by  its  means,  attracted  several  French  artists,  who 
became  familiar  with  it  as  readily  as  with  every  other 
form  of  art.  A  French  artist  of  Flemish  taste,  "Wal- 
lerant  Vaillant,  born  at  Lille  in  1623,  produced  the 
first  really  skilful  mezzotint  engravings  under  the 
guidance  of  Prince  Rupert,  the  friend  and  confidant 
of  Louis  Siegen.  Very  few  proofs  were  printed  from 
them  in  Holland,  and,  judging  by  the  time  which 
elapsed  beween  their  publication  and  the  adoption  of 
the  new  style  by  French  artists,  they  were  not  known 
in  France  until  much  later.  Isaac  Sarrabat  was  one 
of  the  first  who  ventured  to  employ  the  unfamiliar 
process  in  that  country,  and  his  boldness  was  success- 
ful. His  drawing  was  agreeable  rather  than  grand, 
but  his  tints  were  harmonious,  and  he  has  shown 
more  knowledge  and  experience  than  could  have 
been  expected  from  an  artist  employing  a  new  pro- 
cess, in  the  portraits  of  the  engraver  "  Etienne  Gan- 
trel,"  after  Largilliere  ;  of  the  a  Marquis  of  Praslin," 
and  of  "  G.  J.  B.  de  Choiseul,"  after  H.  Rigaud  ;  of 


ENGRAVING    IN    FRANCE.  279 

the  printer  "  Alexander  Boudan  ;  "  and  in  "  Tlie 
Adoration  of  the  Shepherds,"  after  L.  Herluyson. 
About  the  same  time  the  celebrated  amateur,  Boyer 
d'Aguilles,  had  the  greater  number  of  the  pictures  in 
his  gallery  at  Aix  reproduced  in  mezzotint  by  a  skil- 
ful engraver,  Sebastien  Barras,  whom  he  retained  near 
him.  He  himself  aided  in  the  work,  and  executed  a 
few  engravings  by  the  same  process,  which  show  good 
will  and  a  taste  superior  to  that  of  most  amateurs, 
although,  which  is  not  surprising,  he  had  no  great 
practical  ability. 

We  must  name  a  few  French  artists  who  occasion- 
ally used  mezzotint,  although  they  did  not  confine 
themselves  to  it.  The  painter  Andre  Bouys  engraved 
his  own  portrait ;  the  coloring  is  skilful,  indeed  he 
proved  himself  master  of  the  process  from  the  first ; 
Jean  Cossin,  the  author  of  a  justly  prized  "  St. 
Agnes  ;  "  L.  Bernard,  who,  in  choosing  the  "  Virgin  " 
of  Correggio,  showed  that  he  understood  that  colored 
works  are  better  suited  than  others  for  reproduction 
in  mezzotint,  and  that  chiaroscuro  effects  are  better 
rendered  in  it  than  delicate  drawing  or  careful  out- 
lines ;  finally,  Bernard  Picard,  a  cold  and  monotonous 
engraver,  who  seems  for  once  to  have  been  carried 
away  by  the  charm  of  color  in  his  portrait  of  Demo- 
critus,  executed  in  1698. 

At  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  we  again  meet 
with  the  artists  we  have  named  above,  now  devoting 
themselves  to  recording  the  events  of  the  reign  of 
Louis  XIY.  Few  remarkable  works  were  published 


280  WONDERS    OF   ENGRAVING. 

at  this  time,  although  engraving  was  more  widely 
practised  than  ever  before,  the  fashion  of  carefully 
engraving  immense  almanacs,  giving  the  important 
events  of  the  past  year  in  numerous  medallions,  was 
introduced  into  France.  These  immense  plates,  in 
which  the  calendars  occupied  but  a  small  space,  were 
hastily  engraved  by  Edelinck,  Poilly,  Sebastien  Le- 
clerc,  and  Albert  Flamen,  to  meet  the  demand  of  the 
moment,  and  added  little  to  the  reputation  of  their 
authors.  The  same  observation  applies  to  the  weighty 
theological  or  philosophical  theses  dedicated  to  the 
king  or  the  nobles  of  the  court  by  students.  The 
argument  is  surmounted  by  a  portrait  or  a  pompous 
allegorical  subject ;  and  though  Robert  Nanteuil, 
Francois  de  Poilly.  Pitau,  or  Gerard  Edelinck  may  be 
the  authors,  these  plates  are  beneath  the  reputation 
of  the  above-named  artists. 

In  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  numerous  monuments 
were  raised  testifying  to  the  fertile  imagination  and 
the  science  of  the  artists  employed  by  that  ostenta- 
tious monarch.  Jean  Marot,  an  engraver,  has  left  for 
the  benefit  of  posterity  a  representation  of  the  greater 
number  of  the  buildings  he  saw  erected.  Thanks  to 
his  intelligent  care,  we  can  easily  give  an  account  of 
monuments  now  destroyed,  and  write  the  history  of 
French  architecture  in  the  seventeenth  century.  What 
Jean  Marot  did  for  architecture  Jean  Lepautre,  Jean 
Berain,  and  Daniel  Marot  did  for  the  decoration  of 
interiors.  These  three  artists,  who  were  equally  skil- 
ful in  different  styles,  have  left  a  number  of  engrav- 


ENGRAVING    IN    FRANCE.  283 

ings  which  are  complete  and  authentic  records  of  the 
ornamentation  of  apartments  in  their  day.  The  abun- 
dant and  graceful  arabesques  which  have  escaped 
destruction  in  the  Palace  of  Versailles  or  the  splendid 
mansions  of  France  are  met  with  again  in  innumera- 
ble spirited  engravings  by  Lepaiure,  and  bold  and 
careful  designs  by  Berain  and  Daniel  Marot. 

During  all  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
engravers  were  almost  entirely  occupied  in  rendering 
the  works  of  one  artist,  Antoine  Watteau,  the  painter 
of  festive  gatherings  and  rural  picnics.  He  was  a 
colorist  after  Rubens.  No  doubt  his  style  was  very 
different  to  that  of  his  favorite  master,  but  he  never 
lost  sight  of,  he  never  ceased  to  admire,  the  splendid 
and  attractive  coloring  of  the  master  of  the  Medicean 
Gallery.  Rubens  treated  grand  and  stately  subjects, 
Watteau  only  painted  familiar  scenes  ;  but  he  had 
exceptional  talent  for  decoration,  he  inaugurated  a 
new  style,  and  in  a  great  measure  realized  the  ideal 
he  had  conceived  ;  and  all  this  entitles  this  industrious 
and  pleasing  painter  to  the  title  of  master.  He  was 
not  content  with  transferring  the  delightful  inventions 
of  his  fertile  genius  to  canvas,  he  has  left  some  rare 
etchings,  which  are  as  spirited  and  delicate  as  his 
paintings.  He  was  very  much  sought  after ;  all  his 
contemporaries,  and  even  his  rival,  Francois  Boucher, 
vied  with  each  other  in  their  eagerness  to  reproduce 
his  compositions  on  metal  with  all  their  elegance  and 
exceptional  delicacy.  The  influence  of  the  school 
which  was  raised  to  honor  by  Gerard  Audran's  excel- 


284  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

lent  works  was  then  at  its  greatest  height.  Antoine 
Watteau  was  therefore  just  in  time  to  profit  by  the 
fortunate  impulse  given  to  engraving;  he  saw  his  best 
works  faithfully  reproduced,  indeed  few  masters  of  the 
French  school  were  more  fortunate  in  their  engravers. 
At  no  other  time  could  France  boast  of  so  many  tal- 
ented engravers,  the  names  of  Benoit  Audran,  Laurent 
Cars,  Nicolas  Cochin,  Michel  Aubert,  Nicolas  de  Lar- 
messin,  Ph.  Lebas,  Jean  Moyreau,  Louis  Desplaces, 
and  of  Bernard  Lepicie',  are  guarantees  for  correctness 
of  reproduction. 

We  will  now  say  a  few  words  on  the  processes 
employed  by  these  engravers  in  their  scrupulous 
copies  of  painters'  compositions.  Like  their  master, 
Gerard  Audran,  they  began  with  etching,  and  only 
used  the  graver  after  the  outline  was  correctly  drawn 
by  the  aquafortis,  they  then  retouched  the  parts  which 
were  to  stand  out,  shaded  the  figures,  finished  off  the 
accessories,  never  sending  their  plates  to  the  printer 
until  they  were  sure  that  their  work  corresponded 
exactly  with  the  painting  before  them.  We  arc  in- 
debted to  this  mode  of  proceeding  for  some  remarka- 
ble works,  and  although  the  greater  number  of  Wat- 
teau's  paintings  have  now  disappeared,  we  are  for- 
tunately still  able  to  appreciate  this  most  spirited 
master,  to  whom  posterity  was  for  so  long  indifferent. 
.  Amongst  these  many  highly  gifted  and  faithful 
engravers  of  the  eighteenth  century  there  are  some 
few  who  deserve  special  mention.  Laurent  Cars,  for 
instance,  who  was  born  at  Lyons  in  1702,  and  died  at 


29.— A  Costume.    Etching  ly  A.  WATTEAC. 


ENGRAVING    IX    FRAXCE.  287 

Paris  in  1771,  gave  proof  of  his  adaptive  talent  and 
great  facility  in  his  "Venetian  Fetes  "  and  "Fortune- 
teller "  after  Watteau,  and  in  "  Hercules  and  Ora- 
phale  "  after  Francois  Lemoine.  Is  icolas  de  Larmessin 
rendered  the  "  Pilgrims  of  the  Isle  of  Oythera  "  by 
Watteau  with  admirable  fidelity,  and  obtained  admis- 
sion to  the  Academy  by  his  portrait  of  u  Guillanme 
Coustou"  after  Jacques  de  Lien;  Jean  Moyreau,  who 
reproduced  almost  all  the  works  of  the  Dutch  painter, 
Philip  Wouverman,  softened  his  style  a  little  in  copy- 
ing the  paintings  of  his  contemporaries  ;  Louis  Snru- 
gue  had  the  good  sense  to  take  all  his  models  from 
living  masters,  who  could  guide  him,  and  this  precau- 
tion saved  him  from  ever  producing  inferior  works ; 
he  was  quite  equal  to  rendering  the  paintings  of 
Antoine  Coypel,  Francois  Boucher,  G.  B.  Pater,  or 
Watteau,  and  he  often  gave  a  harmony  to  his  engrav- 
ings which  the  originals  did  not  possess ;  finally,  Gi- 
rard  Scotin,  who  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in 
England,  in  his  engravings  after  Watteau  of  the 
"  Pleasures  of  the  Ball,"  the  "  Hardships  of  War," 
"  Le  Lorgneur  "  and  "  La  Lorgneuse,"  and  the  "  Cas- 
cade," proves  that  his  correct  drawing  and  plastic 
graver  were  uninjured  by  his  having  worked  for  pub- 
lishers who  were  not  particular  as  to  what  works  they 
ordered  from  him.  But  he  owes  his  fame  to  copies  of 
superior  models,  for  his  works  produced  in  England 
would  not  have  made  him  celebrated.  Watteau's 
imitators  were  equally  attracted  by  the  works  of 
Boucher,  Lancret,  and  Pater,  and  as  ready  to  repro- 


288  WONDEKS    OF   ENGKAVESTG. 

dnce  them.  They  had  some  qualities  in  common  with 
those  of  Watteau,  and  they  sold  well.  If  these  en- 
gravings after  relatively  inferior  artists  are  less  ad- 
mired by  connoisseurs  than  those  after  Watteau,  it  is 
the  fault  of  the  paintings  rather  than  of  the  copies, 
for  the  artists  were  in  all  cases  scrupulously  faithful 
to  their  models.  Boucher's  designs,  which  were  much 
run  after,  led  his  fellow-countrymen  to  introduce  a 
style  of  engraving  which  had  not  hitherto  been  prac- 
tised in  France.  We  allude  to  the  facsimile  repro- 
ductions of  drawings  which  copy  even  the  faults  and 
mistakes  of  the  artist.  Giles  Demarteau,  Jean  Charles 
Francois  Bonnet,  Christophe  Leblond,  and  Gautier 
Dagoti,  struggled,  each  by  a  special  process,  to  obtain 
in  engraving  an  exact  reproduction  of  a  sketch,  or  of 
a  picture,  and  they  sometimes  succeeded.  Although 
these  fac-similes  cannot  deceive  experienced  men  ac- 
customed to  study  works  of  art,  they  give  so  just  an 
idea  of  the  originals  that  it  is  possible  by  their  means- 
to  study  the  master's  style  and  follow  his  mode  of 
working. 

Jean  Baptiste  Simeon  Chardin,  who  stood  almost 
alone  in  the  eighteenth  century,  but  has  had  many 
imitators  since,  attracted  engravers,  who  rendered  the 
firmness  of  his  painting  and  the  easy  grace  of  his 
figures  with  praiseworthy  fidelity.  Bernard  Lepicie 
must  be  counted  amongst  those  who  best  caught  the 
expression  of  the  face  in  Chardin's  works.  His  en- 
gravings after  the  "  Teetotum,"  the  "  Raker,"  and  the 
"  Governess  "  are  very  correctly  designed,  and  have 


ENGRAVING   IN   FRANCE.  289 

as  harmonious  an  appearance  as  the  originals.  Lau- 
rent Cars,  Charles  Nicolas  Cochin,  Filloeul,  Lebas,  and 
Surugue  also  took  their  inspiration  from  Chardin's 
works.  Whether  these  engravers  worked  under  the 
master's  supervision,  or  were  so  imbued  with  admira- 
tion of  his  bold  and  fascinating  paintings  that  they 
required  no  assistance,  we  may  assert  without  fear  of 
contradiction  that  few  artists  were  so  fortunate  as 
Chardin  in  their  interpreters. 

Several  French  painters  of  the  eighteenth  century 
took  the  needle  into  their  own  hands  and  produced 
some  etchings  quite  equal  in  point  of  merit  to  their 
paintings.  The  Coypels,— Noel  (1628-1707),  Antoine 
(1661-1722),  Noel' Nicolas  (1688-1734),  and  Charles 
Antoine  (1694-1752),  used  etching.  None  of  them 
left  engravings  worthy  of  notice.  Their  works  of  this 
kind  are  little  more  than  sketches,  and  it  would  be 
unfair  to  judge  of  these  painters  by  their  hasty  etch- 
ings. Honore  Fragonard,  whose  numerous  paintings, 
long  neglected,  are  now  overrated,  was  a  clever  en- 
graver, and  deserves  to  rank  high  amongst  the  many 
witty  artists  of  the  eighteenth  century.  His  four 
"  Bacchanals,"  and  his  "  Armoire,"  not  to  speak  of 
other  compositions,  have  earned  him  this  distinction. 
He  did  not  think  much  of  the  exact  form  of  objects 
or  figures,  but  he  expressed  life  happily.  He  gene- 
rally treated  frivolous  subjects  only,  and  we  must 
admit  that  he  invented  them  with  great  facility. 

Gabriel  de  St.  Anbin  drew  all  that  took  his  fancy. 
He  made  clever  and  suirited  sketches  of  all  that  most 
19 


WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

interested  him  in  every  collection  of  works  of  art 
which  he  visited.     He  appears  to  have  been  an  intel 
ligent  observer  who  foresaw  with  what  avidity  the 
smallest  historical  facts   relating   to   the  eighteenth 

o  O 

century  would  one  day  be  sought  after.  He  used  the 
needle  with  as  much  ease  as  the  pencil.  His  •"  View 
of  a  Saloon  in  the  Louvre  in  1753  "  (Vue  du  Salon  du 
Louvre  en  1753),  the  "  Fair  of  Bezon  "  (La  Foire  de 
Bezon),  "The  Burning  of  the  Fair  of  St.  Germain" 
(L'Incendie  de  la  Foire  St.  Germain),  and  the  "  Thea- 
tre of  the  Tuileries  "  (Le  Spectacle  des  Tuileries),  are 
all  executed  in  a  delicate  and  sprightly  manner. 
Small  as  they  are  they  please  and  amuse  us,  because 
they  truthfully  and  unpretendingly  reproduce  the 
spots  which  St.  Aubin  knew  so  well.  Jean  Baptiste 
Pierre  engraved  several  of  his  own  designs,  and  pro-" 
served  the  memory  of  a  Chinese  masquerade  got  up 
at  Rome  in  1735  by  the  pensioners  of  the  Academic 
de  France.  His  best  etchings  are  four  compositions 
suggested  to  him  at  Subleyras  by  La  Fontaine's  tales, 
"  Brother  Luke,"  the  "  Courtisane  Amoureuse  "  (the 
Amorous  Courtesan),  the  "  Falcon,"  and  "  Brother 
Philip's  Geese."  Loutherbourg  passed  a  great  part 
of  his  life  in  England,  and  in  this  long  absence  from 
France  he  compromised  his  national  originality,  and 
some  of  his  engravings  seem  to  have  been  inspired  by 
Hogarth  rather  than  by  any  French  artist.  Antoine 
Rivalz  was  born  at  Toulouse  in  1677,  and  died  in 
1735.  He  embellished  the  u  Treatise  on  Painting," 
by  Bernard  Dupuy  du  Grez,  with  four  etchings  which 


EXGEAVLXG    EX   FRANCE.  291 

remind  us  more  of  Lebrun's  manner  than  of  that  of  the 
pleasing  masters  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Hubert 
II  ibert  executed  in  a  very  picturesque  and  spirited 
manner  a  series  of  twelve  engravings,  the  "  Soirees  of 
Rome,"  dedicated  to  a  female  artist,  Marguerite  Le- 
comte.  He  took  lessons  of  Claude  Henri  "Wattelet, 
and  with  him  engraved  a  number  of  etchings  of  no 
great  merit,  which  might  be  signed  by  either  the  pu- 
pil or  the  master.  Wattelet,  the  author  of  the  "  Dic- 
tionary of  Painting,"  justly  valued  on  account  of  the 
comprehensive  information  it  contains  on  art  and  art- 
ists of  all  times  and  countries,  and  its  just  and  clear 
criticisms,  was  but  an  inferior  painter,  better  able  to 
recognize  the  talent  of  others  than  to  exercise  personal 
influence  over  artists.  Thomas  Desfriches  was  born  at 
Orleans,  and  was  scarcely  more  than  an  amateur, 
although  he  took  some  spirited  views  on  the  banks  of 
the  Loire.  L.  C.  de  Carmontelle,  a  writer  of  merit, 
.engraved  some  portraits  with  great  intelligence,  show- 
ing rare  knowledge  of  physiognomy.  The  Count  of 
Caylus,  an  archasologist  and  celebrated  man  of  letters, 
drew  with  ease,  and  devoted  his  talent  to  reproducing 
a  number  of  designs  of  antique  objects,  and  engraving 
a  few  original  compositions.  He  had  not,  it  is  true, 
any  great  appreciation  of  antiquity,  or  a  very  pro- 
found comprehension  of  masterpieces,  but  his  works 
are  illustrations  of  many  different  styles,  and  he  evi- 
dently had  a  true  love  of  beauty.  One  quasi-royal 
hand  designed  to  practise  engraving— we  allude  to 
the  Marquise  de  Pompadour.  Besides  a  number  of 


292  WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 

engravings  after  lithographs  by  Jacques  Guay  she  has 
signed  three  or  four  plates  which  would  not  be  un- 
worthy of  famous  engravers.  In  them  we  see  children 
blowing  soap  bubbles,  drinking  milk,  or  resting  in 
the  country,  and  they  are  engraved  with  so  much 
ease  that  we  should  not  be  much  surprised  if  it  should 
turn  out  that  Boucher,  Cochin,  or  some  other  master, 
had  aided  the  powerful  marchioness,  and  for  politic 
reasons  allowed  her  name  to  appear  at  the  foot  of  the 
work  instead  of  his  own. 

We  have  already  said  that  the  French  were  par- 
ticularly successful  with  portraits.  In  the  eighteenth 
as  in  preceding  centuries  artists  carefully  preserved 
the  likeness  of  every  person  of  rank  or  talent  in  their 
day.  Engravers  sprung  up  around  every  distin- 
guished painter,  eager  to  reproduce  his  works.  The 
Drevets,  father  and  son,  generally  took  their  models 
from  Hyacinthe  TCigaud  and  Nicolas  de  Largilliere, 
and  their  engravings  may  be  said  to  be  in  all  respects 
worthy  of  the  original  works. 

Pierre  Drevet,  the  father,  studied  in  the  school 
which  immediately  succeeded  that  inaugurated  in 
France  by  Nanteuil  and  Edelinck  ;  he  conceived  the 
idea  of  rendering  in  their  full  size  the  masses  of 
drapery  which  surround  and  almost  overwhelm  the 
figures  in  the  original  painting.  Of  his  many  works 
we  will  notice  the  portraits  of  "  Jean  Forest,"  after 
Largilliere,  of  "  Andre  Felibien,"  after  Kigaud,  and 
of  "  Hyacinthe  Rigaud,"  after  a  painting  by  the  mas- 
ter himself.  The  engraver  copied  the  best  works  only, 


ENGBAVING   IN   FRANCE.  293 

and  was  fully  equal  to  his  great  task,  rendering  these 
pictures  so  instinct  with  life,  with  manly  energy. 

Tlie  portrait  of  Bossuet  by  Pierre  Drevet,  the  son, 
after  Rigaud,  immortalizes  the  name  of  the  engraver, 
and  gives  a  most  exact  likeness  of  the  great  orator. 
We  like  to  fancy  the  illustrious  prelate  standing, 
leaning  on  his  Oraisons  funebres^  his  episcopal  robes 
wrapped  majestically  around  him,  captivating  the 
crowd  or  the  royal  assembly  he  is  addressing  by  his 
noble  presence  ;  and  the  engraver,  doubtless  inspired 
not  only  by  Rigaud's  superb  portrait,  but  also  by  the 
grandeur  of  the  man  himself,  has  produced  a  master- 
piece worthy  to  rank  with  the  finest  engravings  of 
the  French  school.  Pierre  Drevet,  the  son,  employed 
processes  much  resembling  those  used  by  his  father. 
He  too  used  the  graver  alone,  but  it  was  so  completely 
under  his  control  that  it  adapted  itself  readily  to  the 
exigencies  of  different  forms  and  styles.  His  stuffs 
always  fall  in  rich  and  heavy  folds,  they  are  most 
artistically  arranged  and  engraved  in  wide  strokes, 
whilst  the  head  and  hands,  which  require  greater 
precision  of  outline,  are  expressed  by  finer  and  closer 
lines,  which  allow  of  more  perfect  and  condensed 
shading,  bringing  the  important  parts  of  a  portrait 
into  relief.  Claude  Drevet,  who  flourished  later, 
employed  the  same  process  which  his  relations  had 
raised  to  honor,  with  the  important  difference  that  his 
line-engraving  was  often  cold  and  disagreeably  mo- 
notonous. 

The  engravers  of  whom  we  have  spoken  produced 


294r  WONDEBS    OF    ENGKAVING. 

many  portraits  after  Rigaud  or  Largilliere,  but  other 
painters  also  supplied  them  with  excellent  models,  we 
will  name :  Jean-Marc  Nattier,  Louis  Tocque,  Maurice 
Quentin  de  la  Tour,  Jean  Siffred  Duplessis,  Jacques 
Aved,  and  Tournieres  ;  Jean  Daulle,  whose  work  with 
the  graver  was  certainly  brilliant,  took  the  Academy 
by  storm  in  1742,  by  his  engraving  of  "  Hyacinthe 
Kigaud  painting  his  Wife's  Portrait."  Jacques  Beau- 
varlet  made  the  mistake  of  overloading  his  plates 
with  monotonous  lines.  His  portrait  of  the  sculptor 
Bouchardon  obtained  him  the  title  of  Academician. 
It  is  neither  his  best  engraving  nor  an  exceptional 
work.  Jacques  Balechou,  whose  style  much  resembles 
that  of  Beauvarlet,  executed  with  some  talent  the 
portrait  of  M.  de  Julienne  holding  a  paper  on  which 
Watteau's  face  is  seen,  after  a  painting  by  J.  B.  do 
Troy.  This  engraving  is  really  superior  to  his  more 
celebrated  one  after  Vanloo's  "  St.  Genevieve  tending 
her  Flock." 

John  George  Wille  and  George  Frederick  Schmidt 
were  both  natives  of  Germany,  but  established  them- 
selves in  France  at  an  early  age,  and  produced  their 
celebrated  works  in  that  country.  Our  notice  of  them 
must  be  brief,  as  we  have  already  spoken  of  them 
amongst  German  artists.  Wille  engraved  numerous 
portraits  after  Tocque  and  De  la  Tour,  and  several 
compositions  after  Terburg,  Dietrich,  and  his  son 
Peter  Alexander  Wille.  His  work  is  excessively 
neat,  almost  too  much  so,  and  his  engravings  have  a 
wearisome  metallic  appearance,  which  does  not  do 


EXGKAVIN'G    IN    FRANCE.  295 

justice  to  the  original  paintings.  French  artists  have 
never  been  guilty  of  either  of  these  faults.  Wille's 
figures,  draperies,  and  furniture  are  all  equally  harsh  ; 
in  looking  at  his  prints  we  seera  to  have  the  glittering 
lines  and  shining  hollows  of  the  plate  itself,  before  us. 
We  must,  however,  admit  that  his  execution  shows 
rare  talent.  G.  F.  Schmidt  shared  the  faults  and  tal- 
ent of  Wille ;  he  too  was  an  excellent  line-engraver, 
and  many  of  his  works  justify  his  renown. 

Two  brothers,  Pierre  Charles  and  Francois  Robert 
Ingouf,  engraved  together  a  numerous  series  of  por- 
traits which  show  little  originality  or  practical  skill. 
Charles  Mcolas  Cochin  (Paris,  1715-1788)  engraved 
profile  portraits,  in  round  medallions,  of  all  the  great 
men  of  his  day.  The  painter  took  great  pains  to  give 
individuality  to  each  face,  but  the  real  value  of  the 
work  is  obscured  by  the  tiring  monotony  of  so  many 
heads  engraved  in  the  same  circle.  The  engravings 
of  Etienne  Ficquet,  Pierre  Savart,  and  Jean  Baptiste 
Grateloup  stand  with  regard  to  portraits  in  the  same 
relation  that  miniatures  do  towards  historical  paint- 
ing. These  artists  engraved,  with  the  aid  of  a  very 
strong  magnifying  glass,  some  very  pleasing  por- 
traits, which  are  now  highly  prized.  Ficquet,  the 
most  skilful  of  the  three,  has  left  very  good  likenesses 
of  Moliere,  La  Fontaine,  Corneille,  and  Boileau.  P. 
Savart,  like  Ficquet's  other  pupils,  could  not  attain  to 
the  delicacy  of  his  master's  works,  and  his  name  is 
now  almost  forgotten.  J.  B.  Grateloup  was  so  en- 
amored of  fine  strokes  that  he  tried  to  imitate  with 


296  .         WONDERS    OF   ENGRAVING. 

the  graver  the  work  produced  by  the  rocking  tool 
balanced  on  the  metal ;  he  spent  his  whole  life  over 
nine  engravings,  and  we  do  not  wonder  that  he  be- 
came blind  when  we  examine  his  portrait  of  Bossuet 
after  Rigaud's  painting,  which,  should  it  possess  no 
other  merit,  has  that  of  being  a  feat  of  great  dexterity. 
In  the  eighteenth  century  appeared  a  new  style  of 
illustration  until  then  unknown,  we  allude  to  vignettes. 
They  were  small,  it  is  true,  but  well  suited  to  the  lit- 
erature of  jthat  period.  By  a  vignette  we  understand 
an  engraving  of  small  dimensions  illustrating  a  text,  a 
poem,  or  a  romance.  Artists  produced  such  spirited 
and  clever  vignettes  that  a  taste  for  them  was  created, 
and  scarcely  a  book  appeared  which  did  not  contain 
several  plates  intended  to  fix  on  the  mind  of  the 
reader  the  principal  scenes  in  the  book.  Hubert 
Gravelot,  who  was  undeniably  the  best  designer  of 
vignettes,  illustrated,  as  we  should  say  now,  the 
"  Moral  Tales  of  Marmontel,"  the  "  Decameron  "  of 
Boccaccio,  and  the  "  "Works  of  Corneille."  The  grace 
which  distinguished  his  compositions  was  faithfully 
rendered  by  his  engravers,  Laurent  Cars.  J.  Ph. 
Lebas,  Cl.  Duflos,  Choffart,  and  Aug.  de  St.  Aubyn. 
It  is  true  that  the  designer  has  represented  the  heroes 
of  Corneille  and  Boccaccio  in  rooms  decorated  in  the 
fashion  of  Ids  own  day,  with  gilded  ceilings  and  deco- 
rated with  flowers ;  but  we  can  forgive  these  ana- 
chronisms on  account  of  the  spirited  composition  of 
the  whole,  and  the  faithful  record  the  artist  has  left  us 
of  the  interior  decorations  of  his  time.  In  these  finely 


ENGRAVING   IN   FRANCE.  297 

conceived  and  well  drawn  engravings  we  have  com- 
prehensive information  of  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  French  in  the  eighteenth  century,  that  age  of 
rapid  decline  and  general  recklessness.  Eisen  drew 
less  correctly  than  Gravelot,  but  holds  a  good  position 
nevertheless.  His  designs  in  the  "  Metamorphoses  of 
Ovid,"  engraved  by  Nic.  Ponce,  Delaunay,  Baquoy, 
Ghendt,  and  Noel  Lemire  show  both  inventive  power 
and  ability  in  interpreting  the  ideas  of  others.  P.  P. 
Choffard  was  preeminently  successful  in  composing 
and  engraving  designs  for  tail-pieces  and  head-lines ; 
invitation  cards,  addresses,  or  frames  for  maps,  and 
his  skill  in  these  inferior  works  did  not  prevent  him, 
when  occasion  required,  from  drawing  in  an  agreeable 
manner  several  compositions  the  subjects  of  which  he 
took  from  contemporaneous  writers.  A  few  years 
before  his  death  he  published  a  "  Notice  of  the  Art 
of  Engraving  in  France."  In  it  he  not  only  proves 
his  practical  ability,  but  also  his  love  of  his  profession 
and  his  respect  for  the  masters  who  preceded  him. 
This  work,  small  as  it  is,  contains  some  very  wise 
observations,  which  are  valuable  from  such  an  artist 
as  Choffard.  Marillier,  Augustin  de  St.  Aubin,  Noel 
Lemire,  Delvaux,  Tilliard,  Simonet,  and  Longueil, 
engraved  their  own  and  others'  designs.  Their  works 
show  that  they  were  all  influenced  by  Gravelot  and 
Eisen,  but  many  have  also  considerable  individual 
merit.  Moreau  the  younger  at  first  followed  the 
example  of  his  predecessors,  and  produced  some 
excellent  and  spirited  vignettes  at  the  end  of  the 


298  WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 

eighteenth  century ;  but  unfortunately  he  was  after- 
wards led  astray  by  an  evil  influence  which  altered 
his  style  and  seemed  to  paralyze  his  powers.  His 
engravings  in  the  "  Songs  "  of  Laborde,  the  "  Judg- 
ment of  Paris,"  a  poem  by  Iinbert,  and  the  "  Good 
Soldier,"  by  Boussanelle,  sparkle  with  wit  and  are 
arranged  with  ease,  whilst  his  engravings  for  the 
"  Holy  Bible  "  and  the  u  Metamorphoses  of  Ovid  " 
are  pretentious  and  labored.  "When  Moreau  com- 
posed the  vignettes  for  the  latter  works,  David  was 
the  reigning  master,  and  his  reforms  were  largely 
influencing  the  taste  and  style  of  the  French  school. 
Moreau  the  younger  vainly  endeavored  to  go  with 
the  stream,  he  could  not  conform  to  rules  so  different 
from  those  which  had  guided  his  early  efforts,  and  in 
the  attempt  he  entirely,  or  nearly,  lost  the  dexterity, 
the  spirit,  and  the  elegance  for  which  he  had  been 
famed. 

These  designers  of  vignettes,  who  have  left  us 
such  trustworthy  records  of  interior  decoration  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  were  not  equally  successful  with 
architecture.  Decorators  by  profession,  such  as 
Gilles  Marie  Oppenort,  Juste  Aurele  Meissonnier, 
Babel,  and  Balechou  have,  however,  left  some  en- 
gravings of  their  designs,  which  are  good  guides  to 
the  student  of  the  style  of  that  period.  We  must  not 
now  detain  the  reader  by  discussing  the  singular  ten- 
dency of  the  eighteenth  century,  their  contortions  of 
even  the  smallest  mouldings,  and  their  dislike  of  a 
straight  line,  which  was  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  the 


ENG RAVING  IN  FRANCE.  299 

art  of  this  period  ;  we  will  merely  notice,  that  in  de- 
fault of  superior  taste  and  love  of  simplicity,  the 
architects  of  that  day  were  certainly  most  skilful 
decorators,  and  the  artists  we  have  named  above  were 
good  interpreters  of  their  productions,  and  have  trans- 
mitted exact  and  complete  records  of  their  works. 

We  have  purposely  refrained  from  speaking  of 
Jean  Baptiste  Greuze  at  the  same  time  as  "Watteau, 
Lancret,  Pater,  and  Chardin.  He  belonged  to  the 
school  of  the  eighteenth  century  indirectly  only  ;  his 
works,  with  the  exception  of  his  portraits,  are  pom- 
pous and  theatrical.  His  best  subjects  are  taken  from 
domestic  life,  but  he  did  not  altogether  succeed  with 
them.  The  "  Paternal  Malediction,"  the  "  Village 
Bride,"  the  "  Reading  of  the  Bible,"  the  "  Paralytic 
waited  on  by  his  Children, "are  pure  melodrama  with 
him,  and  he  seems  to  have  missed  the  simplicity  and 
the  homeliness  which,  in  the  eighteenth  century  as 
now,  must  have  characterized  family  life.  In  paint- 
ing, he  contrasted  colors  without  entirely  blending 
them.  Some  engravers  endeavored  to  imitate  him. 
Jean  Jacques  Flipart  (1723-1782)  employed  etching 
almost  entirely,  and  tried  to  counterfeit  the  bold 
dashes  of  a  thick  brush  with  a  needle,  using  the 
graver  merely  to  deepen  the  colored  parts  and  to  fin- 
ish off  the  engraving.  His  best  engravings,  the  "  Vil- 
lage Bride,"  the  "  Paralytic,"  and  the  "  Twelfth  Cake," 
are  in  this  style.  P.  C.  Ingouf  worked  in  the  same 
manner,  and  succeeded  equally  well.  The  "  Peace  of 
the  Household  "  and  the  "  Good  Teaching "  show 


300  WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 

practical  ability,  and  an  evident  desire  to  be  faithful 
to  the  painting.  Jean  Massard  profited  by  the  lessons 
of  his  master,  George  Wille,  and  gave  proof  of  talent 
in  the  "  Broken  Pitcher,"  the  "  Benevolent  Lady," 
and  the  u  Well-loved  Mother."  Jean  Charles  Levas- 
seur  produced  good  engravings  of  the  "  Stepmother," 
the  "  Destroyed  Will,"  the  "  Little  Scapegrace,"  and 
"Youthful  Study,"  which,  give  a  very  just  idea  of 
Greuze's  paintings.  Numbers  of  engravers  contribu- 
ted greatly  to  the  fame  of  this  artist's  works,  and  he 
was  most  fortunate  in  finding  so  many  skilful  inter- 
preters in  his  own  time.  Great  and  exaggerated  as 
was  Greuze's  success,  his  conventional  and  pretentious 
manner  of  treating  domestic  joys  and  woes  was  imi- 
tated by  few.  Not  more  than  three  or  four  artists,  J. 
E.  Schenau,  Et.  Aubry,  and  P.  A.  Wille,  took  their 
line  from  him  ;  but  after  this  brief  delusion,  a  new 
era,  inaugurated  by  Louis  David,  began  for  ail,  and 
models  were  sought  for  in  the  works  of  antiquity. 
Engraving  followed  the  example  of  painting ;  it  left 
for  ever  the  quick  and  easy  style,  and  once  and  for  all 
aspired  to  compositions  of  a  high  order,  such  as  suited 
the  earnest,  reflective,  and  docile  genius  of  the  French. 
Nevertheless,  the  return  to  the  study  of  the  an- 
tique was  not  accomplished  in  a  day.  So  radical  a 
change  required  a  transition  state.  Liberated  society, 
long  oppressed,  was  unsettled  for  a  time,  and  it  was 
the  same  with  art.  The  Count  of  Caylus  was  the 
first  to  endeavor,  by  his  writings  and  engravings,  to 
make  the  beauties  of  antiquity  and  of  the  Kenais- 


ENGRAVING   IN   FRANCE.  301 

sance  known  and  appreciated.  Jean  Francois  Pey- 
ron  was  equally  zealous  in  the  good  cause.  He  en- 
graved some  of  Poussin's  works,  and  brought  out 
original  compositions  in  the  same  style.  Joseph  Marie 
Vien  followed  up  Peyron's  efforts,  and  assumed  the 
subdued  manner.  He  attracted  many  young  artists 
by  his  talent,  but  he  could  not  carry  out  the  noble 
work.  He  has  but  the  honor  of  having  guided  the 
first  efforts  of  the  artist  who  was  to  exercise  such 
long  and  despotic  influence  over  French  art,  and  to 
lead  it  on  to  its  glorious  destiny.  We  allude  to 
Jacques  Louis  David,  who  had  very  many  pupils, 
but,  strange  to  say,  is  perhaps  the  only  one  of  the 
great  masters  who  did  not  attract  engravers  anxious 
to  reproduce  his  works  and  to  share  his  renown. 

The  Revolution  so  entirely  absorbed  public  atten- 
tion, that,  during  the  Republic,  art  was  exclusively 
occupied  with  the  events  of  the  day.  The  chief  aim 
of  engravers  was  to  supply  the  public  with  news, 
and  they  generally  rapidly  etched  the  outlines  of 
their  subjects,  leaving  the  rest  to  professional  color- 
ists,  who  added  flat  tints  to  each  proof.  These  coarse 
representations  are  of  no  artistic  value,  but  they  may 
be  consulted  with  profit  by  an  historian  interested  in 
the  smallest  actions  of  a  great  nation  in  a  state  of 
transition.  Some  few  artists  excelled  in  this  style 
of  engraving,  and  produced  creditable  works.  Du- 
plessis  Bertaux,  compared  by  his  contemporaries  to 
Callot,  engraved  an  immense  number  of  the  events 
of  the  Revolution.  His  etching  was  delicate,  often 


302  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

spirited ;  he  was  most  skilful  in  arranging  compli- 
cated compositions,  but  when  he  had  to  deal  with 
larger  figures  than  usual  Ms  power  deserted  him,  and 
his  drawing  became  heavy  and  very  incorrect.  In 
this  he  resembled  his  predecessors,  the  engravers  of 
vignettes,  who  thought  more  of  general  harmony  than 
of  correct  detail. 

Louis  Philibert  Debucourt  (1755-1832)  was  the 
cleverest  of  the  engravers  of  the  Revolution.  In  the 
years  before  and  after  the  death  of  Louis  XVI.  he 
engraved  in  color  the  "  Garden  of  the  Palais  Royal," 
the  "Gallery  of  the  Palais  Royal,"  the  "Shrub- 
beries," the  "  Compliment,"  "  Annette  and  Lubin," 
and  several  other  familiar  subjects.  He  was  of  an 
observing  and  inquiring  mind,  and  had  decided  talent 
for  engraving.  At  first,  he  obtained  excellent  color- 
ing by  means  of  successive  plates  ;  his  spirited  draw- 
ing was  well  suited  to  this  process,  which,  in  his 
hands,  fulfilled  all  the  requirements  of  art.  When 
the  storms  of  the  Revolution  were  over,  Debuconrt 
attempted  a  totally  different  style,  that  of  aquatint, 
with  which,  however,  he  was  not  equally  successful. 
He  now  turned  to  the  works  of  others  in  preference, 
and  only  occasionally  produced  any  thing  original. 
He  aged  rapidly,  and  the  engravings  of  his  early  life 
alone  are  worthy  of  study. 

At  this  transition  period,  Sergent  Marcean  also 
distinguished  himself  by  some  spirited  engravings, 
but  he  was  not  very  fertile,  and  his  works  are  now 
of  little  value.  The  other  artists  of  the  Revolution 


ENGBAVTNXJ    IX   FRAKCE.  303 

are  scarcely  worth  mentioning ;  their  works  are  in- 
teresting as  referring  to  one  of  the  most  important 
eras  of  French  history,  hut  not  fronnan  artistic  point 
of  view.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  they  are  very  numer- 
ous, and  may  be  consulted  in  public  institutions,  where 
they  have  been  collected  and  carefully  preserved. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 
art  of  portrait-taking,  which  had  been  carried  to  such 
perfection,  was  almost  abandoned  in  France.  An 
engraver  named  Quenedey  invented  an  instrument 
which  mechanically  reproduced  the  human  profile  on 
copper ;  the  artist  had  merely  to  touch  up  the  work 
of  the  machine,  so  that  he  could  quickly  and  cheaply 
supply  the  public  demand.  The  invention  became  so 
fashionable  that  few  families  were  without  likenesses 
in  physionotracy.  Pupils  and  imitators  took  advan- 
tage of  Quenedey's  success.  Chretien  in  France,  and 
Saint  Mesmin  in  America,  engraved  numberless  por- 
traits with  a  similar  instrument,  but  as  art  was  only 
an  auxiliary  in  the  process,  these  likenesses  were  all 
equally  dull-looking,  and  very  soon  lost  the  brief 
favor  they  had  enjoyed. 

Before  closing  our  review  of  engraving  in  France- 
we  must  speak  of  one  artist  who  used  etching  him- 
self, and  employed  two  very  clever  engravers.  Pierre 
Paul  Prud'hon  belongs  as  much  to  the  nineteenth  as 
to  the  eighteenth  century.  He  himself  transferred 
his  charming  design  of  "  Phrosyne  and  Helidora  "  to 
copper.  There  are  evident  signs  of  inexperience  in 
this  engraving.  It  is  rather  the  work  of  a  good 


304:  WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 

painter  than  of  an  engraver.  Louis  Copia  and  Bar- 
thelemy  Roger  engraved  Prud'hon's  chief  works 
under  his  supervision,  and  seem  to  have  entirely 
caught  the  spirit  of  the  painter.  Their  line-engrav- 
ings, which  were  finished  off  with  well-distributed 
stippling,  enable  every  one  to  admire  the  "  French 
Constitution,"  "  Innocence  beguiled  by  Love,"  "  In- 
nocence preferring  Love  to  Wealth,"  the  "  Thirst 
of  Gold,"  and  many  other  equally  superior  works, 
which  might  otherwise  have  been  entirely  lost,  or 
known  only  to  a  few  privileged  persons. 

The  reform  effected  in  art  by  David  extended  to 
engraving,  which  recovered  its  former  splendor. 
Charles  Clement  Bervic  (May,  1756-March,  1822) 
gave  early  proof  of  great,  talent  for  drawing.  He 
was  one  of  John  George  Wille's  best  pupils.  Like 
his  master,  he  employed  the  graver  only,  but  his 
strokes  are  easier  and  more  symmetrical,  and  his  en- 
gravings have  not  the  metallic  appearance  which  we 
condemned  in  those  by  Wille.  "We  know  how  justly 
successful  were  his  "  Education  of  Achilles "  after 
Regnault,  the  "  Rape  of  Deianeira "  after  Guido, 
the  "  Portrait  of  Louis  XVI."  after  Callot,  and  the 
"  Laocoon."  In  these  engravings  the  artist  has  suc- 
ceeded, by  good  management,  in  concentrating  the 
attention  on  the  chief  parts  of  the  composition,  and 
they  retain  the  value  which  every  well-studied  work 
must  have  in  the  eyes  of  good  judges,  and  have'  been 
most  useful  examples  to  the  modern  French  school  of 
engraving. 


ENGRAVLSG    LN    FRAKCE.  305 

Pierre  Alexander  Tardieu,  who  took  lessons  of 
Wille  with  Bervic,  was  almost  equally  talented, 
although  he  was  less  famous,  and  had  few  pupils. 
His  masterpiece,  the  portrait  of  the  Earl  of  Arundel 
after  A.  Yandyck,  may  be  considered  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  works  of  the  French  school.  This 
engraving  admirably  renders  the  bright  and  harmo- 
nious coloring  of  the  great  Flemish  painter's  work  ; 
it  is  executed  entirely  with  the  graver,  and  the  same 
process  was  employed  as  in  Gerard  Edelinck's  justly 
admired  portraits.  P.  A.  Tardieu  brought  out  an 
engraving  after  the  dead  figure  of  "  Lepelletier  de 
St.  Fargeau,"  painted  by  David  for  the  Convention 
Hall,  which  is  now  lost  or  carefully  withheld  from- 
the  public.  The  plate  fared  no  better  than  the  paint- 
ing, it  was  destroyed,  but  the  rare  impressions  'from 
it  which  have  been  saved  give  us  a  very  high  opinion 
both  of  the  original  painting  and  of  the  engraver's 
appreciation  of  it ;  the  general  style  is  subdued,  and 
great  knowledge  of  drawing  is  shown  in  the  figure 
stretched  on  the  bed.  Antoine  Alexander  Morel 
took  one  of  his  best  engravings  from  another  of 
David's  designs  for  the  Convention  Hall,  "  Marat  in 
his  Bath."  We  are  indebted  to  the  same  artist  for 
talented  interpretations  of  the  compositions  of  the 
"  Oath  of  the  Horatii,"  and  "  Belisarius  "  by  David. 

Boucher  Desnoyers'  first  works  were  of  little 
value ;  he  employed  a  disagreeable  and  feeble  kind 
of  stippling,  but  later  he  conceived  great  admiration 
for  Raphael.  He  at  once  saw  that  profound  study 


306  WONDERS   OF    ENGRAVING. 

of  drawing  and  constant  application  could  alone 
enable  him  to  cope  with  the  difficulties  of  the  great 
master's  paintings,  and  with  rare  courage  he  set  to 
work  and  recommenced  his  education.  He  began 
by  superintending  the  publication  of  a  collection 
of  copies  from  old  pictures,  but  as  soon  as  he  felt 
himself  master  of  the  difficulties  of  drawing  he  ven- 
tured to  engrave  "  La  belle  Jardiniere "  after  the 
painting  in  the  Louvre.  He  was  completely  success- 
ful, and  his  fame  was  at  once  established  in  a  bril- 
liant manner.  Orders  flowed  in  on  every  side,  and 
in  a  few  years  he  successfully  engraved  the  '•  Por- 
trait of  the  Emperor  Napoleon,"  that  of  "  M.  de 
"Talleyrand,"  and  u  Belisarius "  after  Gerard,  the 
"  Madonna  della  Sedia,"  the  "  Madonna  di  Folig- 
no,"  the  "  Yierge  au  Linge,"  the  "  Yierge  de  la 
Maison  d'Albe "  after  Raphael,  and  the  "  Yierge 
aux  Rochers "  after  Leonardo  da  Yinci.  This  fer- 
tility is  the  more  surprising  when  we  note  the  care 
and  delicacy  of  the  execution  of  the  smallest  details 
in  Boucher  Desnoyers'  engravings.  He  interpreted 
Raphael's  paintings  better  than  any  of  his  prede- 
cessors. The  "  Transfiguration  "  was  his  last  work. 
When  his  powers  were  already  failing  him,  he  deter- 
mined once  more  to  testify  his  admiration  for  the 
great  painter. who  had,  so  to  speak,  filled  his  life. 
He  therefore  composed  an  "  Appendix  to  the  History 
of  Raphael,"  .published  by  Quatremere  de  Quincy, 
in  which  he  showed  his  undying  love  and  unfading 
appreciation  of  the  master  of  his  choice. 


ENGRAVING   IN   FRANCE.  307 

Boucher  Desnoyers  is  not  the  only  distinguished 
engraver  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Messrs.  Forster, 
Martinet,  Calamatta,  and  Mercuri  rank  high  in  the 
school ;  and  M.  Henriquel-Dupont,  author  of  "  The 
Lady,"  after  Vandyck,  u  Lord  Strafford,"  "  The  Por- 
trait of  M.  Bertin,"  and  the  "  Hemieycle  du  Palais 
des  Beaux-Arts,"  has  recently  shown  in  his  "  Disci- 
ples of  Ernraaus  "  that  his  powers  are  still  at  their 
zenith,  or,  if  we  may  so  speak  of  a  master,  that  they 
are  even  on  the  increase.  This  new  work,  executed 
with  ease  and  consummate  skill,  should,  we  think,  be 
considered  a  masterpiece,  and  as  such  it  is  a  good 
study  for  artists  who  still  care  to  work  at  engraving, 
which  is  now  superseded,  not  because  there  is  less 
talent  than  formerly,  but  by  the  discovery  of  many 
mechanical  processes,  useful  in  their  way,  but  fatal 
to  the  art  of  the  engraver.  At  no  other  time  were 
there  more  skilful  artists  of  every  kind  in  France. 
Messrs.  Francois,  Salmon,  Rousseaux,  Levasseur,  and 
Hnot  appear  likely  to  reproduce  the  line-engraving 
of  better  days.  M.  Gaillard  devotes  himself  entirely 
to  superior  works,  and  renders .  their  character  and  i 
their  peculiar  beauty  well  on  metal ;  M.  Leopold 
Flameng  has  worked  his  way  to  the  rank  of  a  mas- 
ter ;  in  a  different  style  of  art  Messrs.  Gaucherd  and 
Jules  Jacquemart  have  been  preeminently  successful. 
On  every  side  engravers  are  working  at  etching,  their 
only  fault  being  their  over  haste  to  multiply  their 
works ;  had  they  a  little  more  painstaking  industry, 
a  little  more  study  of  drawing,  they  might  become 


308  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

famous,  and  even  found  a  true  school  of  etching  in 
France. 

Our  work  must  now  close.  We  have  seen  how 
French  engraving  drew  its  inspiration  now  from 
Flanders,  now  from  Italy,  but  speedily  became  a 
national  art  with  characteristic  peculiarities.  After 
being  devoted  for  some  time  to  the  works  of  others, 
or  to  the  reproduction  of  their  own  intelligent  com- 
positions, engravers  turned  to  the  engraving  of  his- 
tory. They  submitted  themselves  to  the  influence 
of  Poussin  and  Lebrun.  We  have  seen  how  they 
succeeded.  This  grand  style  suited  them  admirably, 
and  they  remained  true  to  it  in  their  interpretation 
of  the  works  of  the  painters  then  at  the  head  of  the 
school.  For  a  short  while  they  turned  aside,  attracted 
by  vignette  engraving,  in  which,  however,  they  were 
most  successful.  From  the  beginning  of  this  century 
they  have  again  been  devoted  to  historical  engraving, 
and  to  it  they  are  indebted  for  their  great  renown. 
The  glory  which  surrounds  French  engravers  is  well 
merited  ;  in  their  skilful,  bold,  and  powerful  works 
have  they  not  spread  abroad  the  love,of  the  beauti- 
ful ?  Did  they  not  lead  the  way  in  the  progress  now 
being  carried  out  ? 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

PROCESSES. 

Engraving  on  Wood,  Camaieu — Copperplate  Engraving — Line-Engrav- 
ing, Etching,  Dry  Point,  Combination  of  Etching  and  Line-Engrav- 
ing,  Mezzotint,  Aquatint,  Chalk  style,  Engraving  in  Color,  Physio- 
notracy,  Heliography  or  Photography — Printing. 

BEFORE  closing  our  history  of  engraving  and  en- 
gravers it  will  be  as  well  to  say  a  few  words  on  the 
many  different  processes  employed.  Engraving  re- 
quires, above  all,  a  thorough  knowledge  of  drawing. 
Without  it,  an  engraver  may  become  a  skilful  work- 
man, but  never  an,  artist.  All  the  great  masters  in 
engraving  have  paid  special  attention  to  this  branch 
of  their  art,  and  the  most  skilful  were  also  talented 
painters.  There  are  many  different  modes  of  en- 
graving ;  the  most  popular  are  wood-engraving,  line- 
engraving,  and  etching.  The  other  processes  are 
derived  from  these.  We  will  consider  them  sepa- 
rately. 

Engraving  on  Wood. — Wood-engraving  is  earlier 
than  any  other  kind,  it  even 'preceded  printing,  prop- 


310  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

erly  so  called  ;  characters  were  engraved  on  wood 
before  movable  types  were  invented.  The  first 
works  embellished  with  woodcuts,  the  "  Speculum 
Humanse  Salvationis,"  the  "  Biblia  Pauperum,"  and 
others  less  celebrated,  appeared  at  a  time  when  manu- 
scripts were  becoming  inadequate  to  supply  the  wants 
of  the  increasing  number  of  readers.  So  great  was 
the  impatient  and  commendable  curiosity  awakened 
on  all  sides,  that  copyists  could  not  work  fast  enough 
to  supply  the  increasing  demand  ;  and  this  led  to  the 
printing  from  engraved  characters  on  a  block,  but 
it  was  not  then  that  engraving  itself  was  invented. 
For  the  real  origin  of  this  art  we  must  go  back  to 
the  most  remote  times ;  the  Greeks,  the  Egyptians, 
and  the  Romans  cut  inscriptions  on  wood  or  metal 
for  the  instruction  of  the  people ;  but  the  secret  of 
printing  was  still  unknown,  and  it  was  the  yearning 
for  knowledge  in  the  fifteenth  century  which  led  to 
its  discovery.  At  the  end  of  a  few  years  movable 
types  were  invented,  and.  of  course,  the  entire  mys- 
tery of  printing  was  solved.  Pictures  were  used 
from  the  first  as  being  easily  understood  by  the  peo- 
ple and  likely  to  impress  facts  on  their  minds.  A 
wooden  block  was  employed  for  taking  off'  the  first 
engravings,  such  as  had  been  used  for  printing  "  let- 
ters of  indulgence."  Wood  being  easily  cut,  was  at 
first  employed  by  the  "  picture  carvers,"  so  called 
because  they  cut  strokes  in  the  wood  roughly,  but 
which  outlined  their  designs.  The  earliest  woodcut 
with  a  positive  inscription  bears  date  1418.  The 


PROCESSES.  311 

only  known  impression  is  in  the  Royal  Library  of 
Brussels.  For  a  long  time  the  "  St.  Christopher," 
with  an  inscription  and  the  date  1423.  was  thought 
to  be  the  first  woodcut ;  the  invention  is  now,  how- 
ever, moved  back  five  years,  and  some  new  discovery 
may  even  yet  fix  it  a  few  years  earlier.  This  ques- 
tion is  but  of  secondary  interest  to  the  history  of 
engraving ;  artists  look  upon  the  first  production  of 
a  really  beautiful  work  as  the  true  beginning  of  an 
art.  Tiie  religious  pictures  brought  out  by  poor  en- 
gravers, who  thought  less  of  artistic  beauty  than  of 
exciting  devotion,  could  scarcely  be  called  works  of 
art.  The  work  of  the  wood-engraver  is  as  follows : 
with  a  very  sharp  tool  he  cuts  away  all  those  parts 
of  the  block  of  box  or  pear-tree  wood  which  the  de- 
signer has  not  covered  ;  he  must  follow  every  line  of 
the  artist's  drawing,  cutting  away  the  whites  and 
leaving  the  blacks.  He  must  never  work  indepen- 
dently, unless  the  strokes  are  not  indicated,  or  a  mere 
wash  gives  the  shading  in  any  object.  The  tools 
employed  by  him  are  called  burins,  or  gravers,  scopers, 
needles,  chisels,  gouges,  scrapers,  and  mallets. 

Engraving  en  Camdieu. — Engraving  en  camdieu 
involves  the  same  processes  as  wood-engraving,  or, 
rather,  it  is  a  superior  kind  of  wood-engraving.  It 
may  be  as  well  to  note  how  this  superiority  was 
obtained.  When  printing  was  first  introduced  the 
only  object  was  to  multiply  or  counterfeit  manu- 
scripts, and  printers  generally  left  a  small  space  at 


312  WONDERS   OF   ENGKAVING. 

the  head  of  each  chapter  for  an  ornamental  initial 
letter  or  title.  This  they  supposed  would  contribute 
to  the  illusion.  Different  tones  were  necessary  to 
imitate  painting  ;  they  therefore  used  blocks  of  wood 
inked  separately  with  different  tones,  and  clamped 
together  so  as  to  be  printed  from  all  in  one.  This 
combination  of  blocks  led  to  the  invention  of  en- 
graving en  cama'ieu,  which  rapidly  improved  in  the 
hands  of  skilful  artists.  A  first  block  gave  an  exact 
outline  of  the  form  to  be  produced,  a  second  provided 
the  shadows,  and  the  white  of  the  paper  was  reserved 
for  the  lights.  We  must  observe  that,  by  the  aid  of 
an  exact  register,  the  second  printing  was  taken  upon 
the  first  impression.  The  first  block  gave  the  print 
the  appearance  of  a  pen-sketch,  and  the  second  that 
of  a  washed  drawing. 

We  have  now  considered  the  process  in  which 
two  blocks  were  used  and  three  tones  obtained — the 
outline,  the  shadow,  and  the  light.  This  was  the 
mode  of  working  at  first ;  later,  by  means  of  a 
greater  number  of  blocks,  the  tints  were  multiplied 
and  numerous  gradations  obtained.  Two  blocks  were, 
however,  sufficient  to  produce  what  is  called  an  en- 
graving en  cama'ieu.  The  word  camdieu  thus  applied 
is  derived  from  cameo,  a  stone  in  layers  of  different 
colors,  so  much  and  so  successfully  employed  in  an- 
tique gem-engraving. 

Copperplate  Engraving. — This  process  is  diamet- 
rically opposite  to  that  employed  in  engraving  on 


PROCESSES.  315 

wood.  In  the  latter  all  that  is  to  be  dark  in  the  im- 
pression is  left  in  relief,  in  the  former  the  dark  lines 
are  cut  into  the  metal  plate,  and  the  damp  paper  is 
subjected  to  so  much  pressure  that  it  sucks  up  the 
ink  from  the  hollows.  Copperplate  engraving  neces- 
sitates long  and  careful  work,  and  somewhat  intricate 
preliminary  studies.  Having  made  a  correct  draw- 
ing of  the  composition  or  figure  to  be  produced  on 
copper  or  steel,  the  engraver  transfers  his  design  to 
metal  by  means  of  an  exact  copy  on  tracing-paper, 
which  gives  the  outlines,  the  strong  shadows,  and 
the  halt-tints.  This  done,  the  artist  begins  to  trace 
with  the  graver  lines  more  or  less  deep,  according  to 
the  amount  of  light  required.  These  first  strokes  form 
the  foundation  of  the  subsequent  work,  and  they  re- 
quire most  correct  and  careful  drawing.  Sometimes 
the  lines  are  crossed  again,  and  yet  again,  to  mark 
and  shade  the  design  more  effectually.  A  stroke 
may  be  introduced  between  parallel  lines  when  the 
shadows  require  deepening,  or  in  engraving  flesh,  to 
avoid  the  unpleasing  effect  of  too  much  lozenge  or 
square-shaped  shading.  Sometimes  the  engraver 
avoids  too  abrupt  a  transition  from  light  to  shade  by 
the  use  of  dots,  which  soften  the  tone.  Such,  briefly 
stated,  are  the  labors  of  a  line-engraver,  whose  work 
is  peculiarly  well  suited  to  compositions  of  a  high 
order.  Some  artists  have  used  the  graver  to  improve 
the  appearance  and  heighten  the  coloring  of  their 
etchings.  "We  will  speak  of  them  when  we  have 
considered  the  process  of  etching.. 


316  WONDEES   OF   ENGRAVING. 

Etcldng. — We  have  said  that  line-engraving, 
which  requires  slow  and  careful  execution  and  com- 
plete finish,  is  chiefly  suitable  for  compositions  of  a 
high  order;  the  easy  and  rapid  process  of  etching,  on 
the  contrary,  is  best  adapted  to  homely  and  familiar 
scenes  or  sketches,  although  artists  of  genius  may 
occasionally  employ  it  for  grand  conceptions.  The 
process  is  as  follows :  the  plate  of  copper  or  steel  is 
first  moderately  heated,  and  whilst  it  is  held  over  the 
fire  it  is  covered  with  a  very  thin  coating  of  varnish 
colored  with  lampblack  and  adhering  to  every  part 
equally.  The  engraver  then  marks  out  his  sketch 
with  needles  of  varying  size,  according  to  the  depth 
of  the  stroke  required,  working  on  the  varnish  as  he 
would  on  paper  with  a  pen  or  pencil.  An  incision 
is  thus  made  in  the  varnish  wherever  marks  are  to 
appear  in  the  print ;  and  the  plate  is  protected  in 
those  parts  which  are  to  be  untouched  and  to  be 
white  in  the  impression.  A  border  of  wax  is  now 
raised  round  the  plate,  and  nitric  acid  is  poured  over 
it,  diluted  with  water,  lest  it  should  affect  the  plate 
too  much,  which  would  prevent  the  proper  manage- 
ment of  the  biting-in.  When  the  acid  is  on  the  plate, 
it  is  as  well  to  spread  it  about  with  a  very  soft  brush, 
that  it  may  act  equally  in  every  part.  When  the 
acid  has  thoroughly  done  its  work  it  is  removed,  the 
plate  is  cleaned,  and  the  varnish  taken  off  with  a  rag 
soaked  in  spirits  of  turpentine.  The  drawing,  which 
before  appeared  on  the  varnish,  is  now  seen  in  sunken 
lines  on  the  metal.  The  plate  goes  to  the  printer,  who 


PROCESSES.  317 

takes  a  proof  of  it,  by  which  tho  artist  can  judge  of 
his  work.     If  any  parts  are  too  much  or  too  little 


Fig.  31.— The  Mountebank,  etched  by  EEMEKANDT 

accented,  it  is  no  great  matter,  the  faults  of  a  first 
biting-in  can  easily  be  remedied.  A  roller,  saturated 
with  varnish,  is  lightly  passed  over  the  plate,  which 
is  thus  entirely  recovered  ;  the  work  is  then  gone 
over  with  the  needle  wherever  it  requires  strength- 
ening, and  bitten  in  again.  Any  lines  too  strongly 
bitten  in  the  first  time  are  rubbed  np  with  a  burnish- 
er, a  round  tool  used  for  that  purpose. 

So  many  facilities  were  attractive  to  painters,  and 
numbers  employed  etching :  it  is  the  only  mode  of 
engraving  which  does  not  require,  preliminary  study, 


318  WONDEUS   OF   ENGKAV1NG. 

experience  is  all  that  is  needed  to  give  firmness  of 
hand  and  knowledge  of  effect,  and  this  an  artist  who 
can  draw  will  rapidly  acquire.  Although  this  mode 
of  engraving  is  so  very  simple  that  any  one  may 


.  Fig.  32.— Vanity,  etched  t>y  J.  C ALLOT. 

learn  it,  those  who  have  excelled  in  it  are  few.  The 
drawing  being  the  chief  thing,  it  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  be  a  skilful  designer  before  becoming  a  good 
etcher.  It  is  essential,  also,  to  have  sufficient  know- 
ledge of  chiaroscuro  to  be  able  to  obtain  all  the 
gradations  of  light  and  shade  by  means  of  the  black 
ink  and  the  white  paper.  It  follows  that  distin- 
guished etchers  are  rare,  and  that  in  this,  as  in  every 
branch  of  art,  to  excel  in  it  is  the  exception  and  not 
the  rule. 


PROCESSES.  319 

Engraving  with  the  Dry  Point. — By  this  we 
understand  a  process  which  generally  accompanies, 
and  often  gives  finish  to,  etching.  The  artist  draws 
on  the  bare  metal  with  a  very  sharp  needle,  thereby 
raising  a  burr,  which  leaves  a  very  soft  and  delicate 
stroke.  These  burrs,  which  are  so  effective  in  Rem- 
brandt's works,  will  not  stand  much  printing  from, 
and  soon  disappear.  This  is  why  the  first  proofs  of 
engravings  with  a  dry  point  are  so  much  valued  and 
fetch  so  high  a  price  at  sales. 

The  Combination  of  Etching  and  Line-Engrav- 
ing.— This  kind  of  engraving  must  be  noticed  in  a 
history  of  the  art,  because  in  it  etching  plays  a  sec- 
ondary and  preparatory  part  only.  The  engraver 
transfers  an  exact  tracing  of  his  design  to  the  metal 
covered  with  a  coat  of  varnish,  which  is  obtained 
thus :  the  copy  is  pricked  with  a  needle  on  a  sheet 
of  tracing-paper,  the  holes  are  filled  with  colored 
powder,  generally  red  ;  it  is  spread  on  the  plate,  and 
rubbing  it  with  the  nail  is  all  that  is  needed  to  make 
an  impression  of  it  on  the  varnish.  This  first  opera- 
tion performed,  the  engraver  goes  over  the  lines  in 
the  varnish  with  a  steel  needle,  passing  over  the  clear 
parts  and  marking  out  the  shadows,  in  fact,  leaving 
nothing  to  be  done  after  the  biting-in  but  the  height- 
ening, doubling  or  trebling  of  the  hatching,  as  occa- 
sion requires.  The  sculptor,  as  we  know,  entrusts 
the  rough  hewing  of  the  marble  for  his  statue  to  a 
workman,  who  gives  the  general  outline  of  the  model 


320 


WONDERS    OF    ENGRAVING. 


supplied  to  him  ;  in  the  same  way  the  engraver  often 
takes  up  and  completes  the  work  in  his  own  indi- 
vidual style  when  the  mechanical  part  is  done,  allow- 
ing some  clever  pupil  to  prepare  the  plate  aud  do  the 


etching. 


Mezzotint  Engraving. — Horace  Walpole,  anxious 
to  give  the  honor  of  the  invention  of  this  style  to  a 
fellow-countryman,  tells  us,  in  his  "  Anecdotes  of 


Fig.  G3.— A  profile  Portrait,  Mezzotint  Engraving  by  Prince  RUPERT,  Palatine 
of  the  Rhine. 

Painting,''  vol.  v.  p.  1G1  (Ed.  1828),  how  Prince 
Rupert,  the  nephew  of  Charles  I.,  was  led  to  its  dis- 
covery when  living  in  retirement  at  Brussels,  after 


PROCESSES.  321 

the  year  1649.  Ct  Going  out  early  one  morning,  lie 
observed  the  sentinel  at  some  distance  from  his  post, 
very  busy  doing  something  to  his  piece.  The  prince 
asked  what  he  was  about.  He  replied,  the  de\v  had 
fallen  in  the  night,  had  made  his  fnsil  rusty,  and  that 
he  was  scraping  and  cleaning  it.  The  prince  look- 
ing at  it,  was  struck  with  something  like  a  figure 
eaten  into  the  barrel,  with  innumerable  little  holes 
close  together,  like  friezed  work  on  gold  or  silver, 
part  of  which  the  fellow  had  scraped  away. 

"  One  knows  what  a  mere  good  officer  would  have 
said  on  such  an  accident;  if  a  fashionable  officer,  he 
might  have  damned  the  poor  fellow,  and  given  him 
a  shilling,  but  the  ' genie  fecond  en  experiences'  from 
so  trifling  an  accident  conceived  mezzotinto.  The 
prince  com  luded  that  some  contrivance  might  be 
found  to  cover  a  brass  plate  with  such  a  grained 
ground  of  fine-pressed  holes,  which  would  undoubt- 
edly give  an  impression  all  black,  and  that  by  scrap- 
ing away  proper  parts  the  smooth  superficies  would 
leave  the  rest  of  the  paper  white.  Communicating 
his  idea  to  Wallerant  Vaillant,  a  painter  whom  he 
maintained,  they  made  several  experiments." 

Unfortunately  for  the  English  historian,  mezzo- 
tint engraving  had  already  been  invented  for  several 
years,  and  Louis  of  Siegen,  a  German  officer,  had 
employed  it  in  1643,  for  his  portrait  of  Amelia  Eliza- 
beth, the  Landgravine  of  Hesse-Cassel ;  and  a  certain 
Francois  Aspruck  had  engraved  a  series  of  thirteen 
plates  of  Christ  and  the  Apostles,  and  one  of  "Venus 


322  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

and  Cupid,"  which  all  bear  the  date  1601,  by  means 
of  some  process  giving  a  result  very  similar  to  that 
obtained  from  mezzotint.  "  Novo  hoc  in  acre  typi 
gcnere" 

In  mezzotint  engraving  the  copper  or  steel  plate 
is  scraped  with  an  instrument  called  a  rocking-tool, 
which  requires  careful  balancing.  It  is  a  semi-circu- 
lar steel  tool  much  roughened  at  one  end,  which  pene- 
trates the  metal  and  produces  numberless  little  dents 
very  near  each  other.  When  the  surface  is  equally 
furrowed  with  this  rocking-tool,  a  scraper  is  used  to 
soften  the  ridges  more  or  less  as  the  lights  are  to  be 
stronger  or  fainter,  and  to  remove  them  entirely  when 
high  lights  are  required.  This  is  quite  a  different 
operation  to  that  employed  in  other  kinds  of  engrav- 
ing. Instead  of  merely  drawing  all  that  is  to  be 
shaded  in  the  impression,  those  parts  alone  are 
worked  at  which  are  to  be  removed  or  softened. 
There  is  a  danger  of  imperfect  results  from  mezzotint 
engraving.  If  not  very  carefully  managed,  the  work 
with  the  rocking-tool  may  make  the  proof  look  spirit- 
less and  confused,  the  transitions  from  light  to  shade 
may  so  easily  be  slurred  over  that  the  greatest  pre- 
caution is  needed  to  obtain  good  and  pleasing  grada- 
tions of  tone.  Another  thing  which  discourages  the 
use  of  mezzotint  is  that  the  plate  will  not  bear  much 
printing  from.  After  furnishing  a  few  hundred  prints 
the  roughness  obtained  by  the  rocking-tool,  and  which 
gives  tone  to  the  impression,  becomes  crushed  in  the 
press,  and  in  some  parts  even  disappears  altogether. 


PROCESSES.  323 

Aquatint  Engraving. — This  process  resembles  mez- 
zotint in  its  results,  and  is  often  confounded  with  it, 
but  it  is  in  reality  quite  different.  Instead  of  first 
furrowing  the  plate  with  the  rocking-tool,  the  en- 
graver begins  by  tracing  the  outlines  of  his  design 
on  the  bare  plate,  which  he  then  sprinkles  equally 
with  very  tine  sand  or  resin  from  a  sieve.  Resin  is 
preferable  to  sand  or  any  thing  else,  as  it  adheres 
readily  to  the  plate  when  slightly  warmed.  The 
acid  slowly  but  plentifully  poured  on  to  the  surface 
thus  prepared  corrodes  all  the  imperceptible  spaces 
between  the  grains  of  resin,  and  this  mass  of  similar 
and  equidistant  dots  makes  the  print  look  soft  and 
harmonious.  The  tone  produced  resembles  that  of  a 
washed  drawing  to  such  an  extent  that  the  first  aqua- 
tint engravings  by  J.  B.  Leprince,  the  inventor  (about 
1787),  were  often  taken  for  washed  drawings.  The 
art  has  been  perfected  since  the  time  of  Leprincu, 
and  some  able  arti?ts  have  obtained  admirable  re- 
sults from  it. 

The  Chalk  Style  supplies  a  modern  demand,  and 
was  really  invented  by  Francois  and  Dumarteau, 
although  the  origin  may  be  traced  back  to  John 
Lutma.  The  imitation  in  engraving  of  the  effect  of 
chalk  on  the  grain  of  the  paper  allows  of  the  mul- 
tiplication of  fac-simile  copies  of  the  handiwork  of 
the  greatest  masters,  which  are  most  accurate  and 
excellent,  and  therefore  very  useful  to  collectors  and 
young  artists,  serving  them  as  models  and  guides, 


324  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

without  which  they  woiild  err  inevitably.  To  obtain 
these  fac-similes  the  engraver  uses  a  revolving  wheel 

~  O 

or  roulette.  T\hieh  is  a  small  cylinder  of  steel  turning 
on  an  axle  fixed  to  a  handle  and  proportioned  to  the 
size  of  the  stroke  about  to  be  produced.  The  outer 
part  of  this  little  wheel  is  covered  with  sharp  teeth, 
which  bite  the  varnished  copper  in  several  places  at 
once.  When  the  aquafortis  has  acted  on  this  first 
work,  the  artist,  with  the  same  instrument,  retouches 
on  the  bare  copper  those  parts  he  wishes  to  mark 
more  strongly.  A  tool  with  the  end  unequally  rough- 
ened, which  produces  similar  effects  to  the  roulette, 
is  sometimes  used.  To  give  the  appearance  of  draw- 
ings in  red  or  bistre,  the  greater  number  of  Francois 
and  Demarteau's  engravings  have  been  printed  in 
red  or  brown,  thereby  aiding  the  illusion. 

Engraving  in  Color  naturally  followed  the  chalk 
style,  and  the  process  is  rather  like  that  of  engraving 
en  camdieu.  It  was  invented  by  James  Christopher 
Leblon,  an  artist  of  Frankfort,  who  conceived  the 
idea  of  printing  on  the  same  sheet  of  paper  from 
plates  impregnated  with  differently  colored  inks.  By 
means  of  an  exact  register  he  was  able  to  print  the 
colors  in  the  correct  places.  He  obtained  surprising 
results,  and  executed  a  portrait  of  Louis  XV.  which 
at  a  distance  might  really  deceive  the  most  experi- 
enced eye.  To  imitate  drawings  he  employed  the 
same  process  as  Francois  and  Demarteau.  The  only 
difference  between  the  two  stvles  consists  in  the  vari- 


PROCESSES.  325 

ation  of  tone  obtained  by  means  of  superposed  print- 
ings. Engraving  in  color  lias  been  practised  by  many 
skilful  French  artists.  It  has  not  succeeded  entirely 
with  figures,  but  it  is  worthy  of  attention,  as  many 
subjects  from  anatomy  and  natural  history,  and  mon- 
uments of  many -colored  architecture,  could  not  have 
been  well  rendered  without  great  expense  by  any 
other  process  before  the  invention  of  chromo-lithog- 
raphy. 

Physionotracy. — At  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century  a  French  artist  named  Quenedey  invented 
a  machine  by  means  of  which  he  copied  the  human 
profile  mathematically.  The  outline  alone  was  fixed 
on«  the  copper  in  one  unbroken  line,  and  the  artist 
shaded  and  worked  out  the  shape  with  sufficient  skill 
to  give  a  certain  appearance  of  truth  to  the  physiog- 
nomy. His  invention  had  great  success  at  first,  but 
for  a  short  time  only. 

Photography. — Photographic  engraving  is  a  mod- 
ern invention.  To  M.  Niepce  de  St.  Victor  belongs 
the  honor  of  having  discovered  how  to  print  a  pho- 
tographic proof  like  a  copperplate  engraving.  He 
was  the  first  to  obtain  satisfactory  results,  but  he  had 
the  advantage  of  the  experience  of  many  wise  men 
and  of  his  uncle  Nicephore  Niepce,  whose  researches 
were  cut  short  by  death.  Photography  has  made 
great  efforts  in  this  direction.  Messrs.  Kiffaut,  Cli. 
Negre,  Baldus,  Durand,  and  Gamier  have  brought 


326  WONDERS   OF   ENGRAVING. 

out  excellent  proofs,  obtained  by  some  secret  but 
evidently  very  effective  process,  and  we  think  we 
may  now  look  upon  all  difficulties  as  conquered. 
Still  better  results  will  doubtless  be  obtained,  and 
engravers,  to  whom  photography  was  a  fatal  blow, 
may  console  themselves  with  the  thought  that  there 
are  some  difficulties  which  art  alone  can  master,  and 
with  which  the  most  perfect  mechanical  process  is 
unable  to  cope. 

Printing. — The  printing  of  engravings,  of  what- 
ever kind,  always  requires  great  care.  "Woocl-engrav- 
ings,  generally  combined  with  the  text,  are  printed 
like  letter-press.  In  his  "  Grammar  of  the  Arts  of 
Design,"  p.  695,  Charles  Blanc  speaks  with  his  usual 
clearness  of  the  care  required  in  printing  wood-en- 
gravings with  the  text :  "  One  thing  is  wanted,"  he 
says,  "  in  early  woodcuts,  the  finish  now  given  to 
them  in  printing  by  a  contrivance  called  dc'coupage. 
By  attaching  portions  of  paper  or  pasteboard,  of  suit- 
able thickness,  to  certain  parts  of  the  tympan  (a  thick 
sheet  of  leather  through  which  the  pressure  is  ap- 
plied to  the  wood  block)  more  or  less  pressure  is  ob- 
tained on  the  different  parts  as  required.  If  it  be 
necessary  to  bring  forward  the  foreground  of  an  en- 
graving, a  pad  is  applied  to  the  part  corresponding 
therewith,  and  to  throw  back  the  distance  a  thin  slice 
of  the  pad  is  removed,  which  softens  the  pressure, 
lessens  the  quantity  of  ink,  and  thereby  lightens  the 
tone." 


PROCESSES.  329 

The  process  of  printing  is  quite  different  in  cop- 
perplate engraving.  We  have  already  stated  that  all 
that  is  to  appear  in  the  proof  is  engraved  in  sunken 
lines.  The  paper,  which  is  first  damped  or  soaked, 
is  pressed  hard  enough  to  suck  up  the  ink  from  the 
hollows.  Having  placed  the  plate  over  a  fire  wrhich 
slightly  heats  it,  the  workman  fills  the  engraving 
with  ink  in  every  part,  he  then  carefully  wipes  the 
plate  with  a  pad  of  thick  muslin,'  so  as  to  remove 
the  ink  where  it  is  not  wanted,  and  proceeds  to  rub 
whiting  over  the  metal  with  the  palm  of  his  hand 
until  it  is  quite  bright.  Thus  prepared  the  plate  is 
laid  upon  blankets,  the  damp  paper,  which  is  to 
receive  the  impression,  is  spread  upon  it,  and  with 
all  its  accessories  it  is  passed  between  the  rollers,  the 
flannels  preventing  undue  pressure,  and  a  proof  is 
obtained  which  must  be  carefully  removed,  as  the 
ink  makes  it  adhere  a  little  to  the  metal,  and  the 
paper  is  still  damp.  To  remove  any  ink  that  may 
have  remained  in  the  lines,  the  printer  cleans  the 
engraving  with  spirits  of  turpentine,  and  proceeds  as 
before. 

To  omit  nothing  we  ought  perhaps  to  explain  the 
numerous  processes  by  which  peculiar  effects  are  pro- 
duced in  printing  engravings.  But  this  would  de- 
tain us  too  long.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  printer, 
working  under  the  supervision  of  the  artist,  may 
often  be  of  great  service  to  him.  This  cooperation, 
however,  is  only  possible  with  etchings.  In  line- 
engravings  there  is  little  room  for  skill  or  manage- 


330         WONDERS  OF  ENGRAVING.     PROCESSES. 

ment,  every  thing  is  so  completely  finished  that  the 
printer  lias  nothing  to  do  but  to  spread  the  ink 
equally  upon  the  plate  so  that  the  proof  may  exactly 
tally  with  the  engraver's  work  upon  the  copper. 

Some  painters  who  employed  etching  took  the 
trouble  of  printing  their  own  engravings.  By  ink- 
ing some  parts  more  or  less  strongly  they  obtained 
different  degrees  of  strength.  Rembrandt,  the  mas- 
ter of  etching,  entrusted  the  printing  of  his  engrav- 
ings to  no  one,  he  reserved  that  task  for  himself. 
His  skill  in  effects  was  so  great  that  proofs  taken 
from  the  same  copper  differ  entirely  from  each  other. 
Some,  tilled  with  ink  and  not  much  worked  up,  make 
the  design  look  dark  and  gloomy  ;  whilst  others, 
lightly  inked,  throw  it  out  and  almost  flood  it  with 
light. 


INDEX  OF  ENGRAVERS'  NAMES. 


Aldegrever  (Henry),  97,  149,  176 

Alix  (Jean),  274 

Altdorfer  (Albrecht),  149,  171 

Amman  (Jost),  149,  178 

Andrea  (Zoan),  35 

Andreani  (Andrea),  16 

Androuet    du   Cerceau    (Jacques), 

23G 

Assen  (John  Walter  van),  92 
Aubert  (Michel),  284 
Audnm  (Benoit),  284 
Audran   (Gerard),  263,   264,   268, 

269,  270,  271,  284 
Agostino  (Veneziano),  67 
Avice  (Chevalier),  265 

Babel,  298 

Backuysen  (Louis),  115 
Baldini  (Baccio),  24 
Baldus,  326 

Balechou  (Jacques),  294 
Baquoy,  297 

Barbari  (Giacomo  de),  37,  43 
Barbe  (Jean-Baptiste),  231 
Barbieri  (Giovanni  Francesco)  call- 
ed Guercino,  62 
Barlow  (Francis),  198 
Baron  (Bernard),  193 


Barras  (Sebastien),  279 
Bartoli  (Pietro  Santo),  78 
Bartolozzi  (Francesco),  196 
Baudet  (Etienne),  265 
Beatrizet  (Nicolas),  76,  227 
Beauvarlet  (Jacques),  294 
Bega  (Cornelius),  106 
Beham  (Bartholomew),  76,  97,  171 
Beham   (Hans  Sebald),   149,    171, 

172,  224 

Bella  (Stefano  della),  254 
Bellange  (Jacques),  258 
Berghem  (Nicolas),  107 
Bernard  (L.),  279 
Bernard  (Salomon),  215 
Bervic  (Charles  Clement),  185,  304 
Binck  (Jacob),  76,  173 
Bloemaert  (Cornelius),  118,  135 
Bloteling  (Abraham),  123 
Bocholt  (Franz  van),  162 
Boillot  (Joseph),  229 
Bol  (Ferdinand),  104 
Boldrini  (Niccolo),  16 
Bolswert  (Boethius  of),  131 
Bolswert  (Schelte   of),    131,    132, 

139,  140 

Bonasone  (Giulio),  70 
Bonn  (Jan  of),  148 


332 


INDEX    OF    ENGRAVERS     NAMES. 


Bonnemer  (Marin),  221 

Bosse  (Abraham),  261,  26? 

Both  (Andrew),  111 

Both  (John),  111 

Botticelli  (Sandro),  24 

Boucher  (Frangois<),  283,  287 

Boucher-Desnoyers  (Auguste),  266, 

307 

Bouchier  (Jean),  230 
Boulanger  (Jean),  272 
Boullongne  (Louis  de),  277 
Bourdon  (Sebastien),  276 
Bout  (Peter),  115 
Bouvs  (Andre),  279 
Boyer  d'Aiguilles,  279 
Boyvin  (Rene),  232,  234 
Brauwer  (Adrien),  105 
Brebiette  (Pierre),  258 
Brescia  (Antonio  da),  35 
Briot,  242 

Brizzio  (Francesco),  60,  77 
Bry  (Theodore  de),  179 
Burgmair  (Ilans),  147 

Calamatta  (Luigi),  307 

Caliot   (Jacques),    245, '247,    250, 

251,  252,  255,  267,  276 
Campagnola  (Domenico),  37,  ?.9,  42 
Campagnoln  (Giulio),  37,  38,  39, 

42,  68 

Canaletto  (Antonio),  45,  46 
Cantarini  (.-'irnone),  called  the  Pesa- 

resc,  61 

Capcllani  (Antonio),  79 
Caraglio  (Jacopo),  69 
Carmona  (Salvador),  84 
Curmontelle  (L.  C.  de),  291 


Carpi  (Ugo  da),  16 

Carracci  (Agostino),  58,  59,  62,  76 

Carracci  (Annibale),  58,  59,  62 

Carracci  (Luigi),  57,  58 

Cars  (Laurent),  284,  286,  289,  296 

Casa  (Niccolo  della),  227 

Caxton  (William),  187,  188 

Caylus  (Count  of),  291 

Chapron  (Nicolas),  258 

Chartier  (Jean),  228 

Chatillon  (Claude),  267 

Chauveau  (Frangoi?),  258 

Chofiart  (P.  P.),  296 

Chretien,  303 

Claas  (Albert),  97 

Clint  (G.),  200 

Cochin  (Charles  Nicolas),  289,  292. 

295 

Cochin  (Nicolas),  284,  289 
Codorc  (Ollivier),  220 
Collaert  (Adrien),  98,  125 
Copia  (Louis),  304 
Corbutt  (C.),  200 
Coriolano  (Giovanni  Baptista),  77 
Corneille  (Claude),  225 
Corneille  (Michel  Ange),  277 
Cornelisz  (Jacob),  92 
Cort  (Cornelius),  59,  77,  231 
Cossin  (Jean),  225 
Cousins  (Samuel),  202 
Couvay  (Jean),  192,  266 
Coypels  (The),  289 
Cranach  (Lucas),  146 
Cruiekshank  (George),  209 
Cruickshank  (Isaac),  209 
Cruickshank  (Robert),  209 
Cunego  (Domcnieo),  79 


INDEX    OF    ENGUAVEKS'    NAMES. 


333 


Curenben  (Dirck  Yolkart),  98 
Custos  (Dominic),  179 

Dalen  (Cornelius  van),  122 
Daret  (Pierre),  238,  242,  255 
Daulle  (Jean),  294 
Daven  (Leon,  or  Tiry),  233 
Debucourt  (Louis  Philibert),  302 
Dei  (Matteo  di  Giovanni),  20 
Delafage  (Nicolas),  259 
Delaunay  (Robert),  297 
Delaune  (Etienne),  228 
Delvaux  (Josepli),  297 
Demarteau  (Giles),  288,  324 
Dente  (Marco)  or  Marco  of  Raven- 
na, 68 

Deruet  (Claude),  246,  254 
Desfriches  (Thomas),  291 
Desplaws  (Louis),  284 
Dickinson  (W.),  200 
Dieterlin  (Wendel),  181 
Dietrich  (Charles),  182 
Dixon  (John),  200,  202 
Dorigny  (Michel),  256,  257 
Di-evet  (Claude),  293 
Divvet  (Pierre),  tliu  father,  292 
Divvet  (Pierre),  tl:e  son,  293 
Dubois  (Hc-li),  267 
Duflos  (Claude),  296 
Dugliet  (Giovanni),  265 
Dujardin  (Karel),  108,  110 
Dumousticr  (Geoffrey),  235 
Dunkarton  (B.),  200 
Duperac  (Etienne),  227 
Duplessis  (Bertaux),  301 
Dupre  (Jean),  211 
Duraud,  325 


Diirer  (Albert),  38,  42,  49,  53,  63, 
68,  90,  94,  97,  117,  145,  146, 
149,  162,  163,  164,  165,  169, 
170,  171,  173,  177,  224,  247 

Dusart  (Cornelius),  95,  106 

Duvet  (Jean),  224,  227 

Dyck  (Anthony  van),  132,  134, 136, 
139,  140 

Earlom  (Richard),  199 

Edelinck  (Gerard),  265,  271,  272, 

275,  280,  292,  G05 
Esquivel  (Manuel),  84 
Eustache  (William),  214 

Faber  (J.),  200 

Faithorne  (William),  190,  193 

Falck  (Jeremiah),  122 

Fantuzzi  (Antonio),  232 

Felsing  (James),  185 

Ficquet  (Etienne),  295 

Fillocul  (Pierre),  289 

Finiguerra  (Maso),  11,  17,  18,  21, 
27,  165 

Firens  (Pierre),  231,  244 

Fisher  (E.),  200 

Fliimen  (Albert),  280 

Flameng  (Leopold),  307 

FJipart  (Jean-Jaequis),  299 

Forster  (Francois),  307 

Fragonard  (Honore),  289 

Francia  (Francesco  Raibolini,  call- 
ed), 20,  21,  56 

Franck  (Hans),  148 

Franco  (Battista),  76 

Francois  (Alphonse),  307 

Francois  (Jean  Charles),  288,  323 


334 


INDEX    OF    ENGRAVERS     NAMES. 


Gaillard  (Ferdinand),  307 

Galle  (Cornelius),  125,  135 

Guile  (Philip),  125 

Galle  (Theodore),  125 

Gantrel  (Etienue),  265 

Gamier,  325 

Gamier  (Antoine),  265 

Gamier  (Noel),  224 

Gatti  (Oliviere),  77 

Gaucherel  (Leon),  307 

Gaultier  (Leonard),  238,  240,  242, 

244 

Gautier-Dagoti,  288 
Gellee  (Claude),  called  Claude  Lor- 

raine,  111,  255,  256 
Ghent  (de),  297 
Ghisi  (Giorgio),  75,  76,  227 
Gillray  (James),  207,  208 
Glockenton  (Albert),  161 
Godart  (William),  214 
Goltzius  (Henry),  117,  118 
Gourmond  (Francois  de),  221 
Goya  (Francesco),  83,  84,  87 
Graf  (Urs),  150 
Granthomme  (Jacques),  242 
Grateloup  (Jean  Baptiste),  295 
Gravelot  (Hubert),  296 
Green  (V.),  260 
Greuter  (John  Fred.),  77 
Greuter  (Martin),  179 
Greuze  (Jean  Baptiste),  299,  300 
Grozer  (J.),  200 
Griin  (Hans  Baldung),  148 
Guidi  (Raffaello),  77 
Guillain  (Simon),  277 

Haids(The),  180 


Hardouin  (Gilles),  213 
Hemrskerke  (Martin),  98 
Henriet  (Israel),  246,  247 
Henriquel-Dupont,  307 
Heusch  (William  of),  111 
Hirschvogel  (Augustine),  177 
Hodges  (C.  H.),  200 
Hogarth  (William),  203,  204,  207 
Hogenberg  (Francis),  233 
Hollar  (Wenceslas),  181,  193,  198 
Hondius  (Henry),  120 
Hooghe  (Romyn  de),  124 
Hopffers  (David,  James,  and  Lam- 
bert), 177 

Hopffer  (Daniel),  149 
Houbraken  (James),  124 
Hoyan  (Germain),  221 
Huot  (Adolphe),  307 

Ingouf  (Francois  Robert),  295 
Ingouf  (Pierre  Charles),  295,  299 
Isac  (Jaspar),  242 

Jacquemart  (Jules),  307 
Jegher  (Christopher),  136 
Jode  (Pierre,  the  elder),  134 
Jode   (Pierre,  the  younger),   134, 

135,  140 
Jones  (John),  200,  201 

Keating  (George),  201 
Keller  (Joseph),  185 
Kerver  (Thielman),  218 
Kilians  (The),  179 
Koburger,  145 

La  Hyre  (Laurent  de),  258 
Lanfranco  (Giovanni),  60 


INDEX   OF    ENGRAVERS     NAMES. 


335 


Larmessin  (Nicolas),  183,  284,  287 
Lasne  (Michel),  238,  242,  257 
Lautensack  (Hans  Sebald),  177 
Lebas  (Jacques  Philippe),  196,  284, 

289,  296 
Leblond  (Jacques  Christophe),  288, 

324 

Lebrun  (Charles),  276 
Leclerc  (Jean),  221 
Leclerc  (Sebastien),  255,  280 
Lecomte  (Marguerite),  291 
Lefevre  (Claude),  277 
Lefevre  (Valentin),  45 
Leinire  (No'.;l),  297 
Lenfant  (Jean),  265 
Leonardis  (Giacomo),  47 
Lepautre  (Jean),  283 
Lepicie  (Bernard),  284,  288 
Leu  (Thomas  de),  238,  240,  242, 

244 

Levasseur  (Jean  Charle.*),  300 
Liefrinck  (Wilhelm  and  Cornelius), 

148 

Limosin  (Leonard),  234 
Liudt  (Alexis),  148 
Lippi  (Fra  Filippo),  28 
Livens  (John),  104 
Lolli  (Lorenzo),  61 
Lombard  (Lambert),  98 
Lombard  (Pierre),  275 
Longhi  (Giuseppe),  80 
Longueil  (Joseph  of),  297 
Loutherbourg  (Philippe),  290 
Lucas  of  Leydeu,  94,  95,  96,  98, 160 
Lutma  (John),  323 
Lutzelburger  (Hans),  151,  152 
Luyken  (John),  124 


Mac  Ardell,  200 

Mair,  162 

Mallery  (Charles),  231,  242 

Mantegna  (Andrea),  32,  34,  35,  36, 

37,  38,  39,  43,  50,  224 
Marco  of  Ravenna  (Dente),  67,  68 
Margottini  (Giacomo),  62 
Mariller,  297 
Marot  (Daniel),  282 
Marot  (Jean),  282 
Martinet  (Achille),  307 
Massard  (Jean),  300 
Masson  (Antoine),  275 
Master  of  1406..  11 
Master  of  1446.  .12 
Master  of  1451..  12 
Master  of    1466..  155,    157,    158, 

161 

Master  of  1480.  .92 
Master  of  the  Caducevs  (Giacomo 

de  Barbari),  43 
Master  of  the  Crab,  96 
Master  of  the  Crossed  Staves  (Haug 

Ulrick  Vaechtlein),  149 
Master  of  the  Die,  71 
Master  of  the  Shuttle  (Zwoll),  93 
Master  of  the  Star  (or  Dirck  van 

Staren),  95,  96 
Master  of  the  Streamers,  155 
Matliam  (James),  118 
Mathoniere  (Denis  of),  221 
Matzys  (Cornelius),  97 
Mazzuoli  (Francesco),  called  Parmi- 

giano,  53,  54,  55,  70,  247 
Mecken  (Israel  van),  161,  163 
Meissonnier  (Juste-Aurele),  298 
Meldolla  (Andrea),  54,  55 


336 


INDEX    OF    ENGRAVERS     NAMES. 


Mellan  (Claude),  192,  242,  257,  272 
Merian  (Matthew),  179,  181 
Millet,  277 

Milnet  (Bernard),  10,  223 
Mocetto  (Girolamo),  37,  42 
Monaco  (Pietro),  47 
Montagna  (Benedetto),  37,  42 
Montcornet  (Balthazar),  271 
Moreau  (the  younger),  298 
Morel  (Antoine  Alexander),  305 
Morghcn  (Rapliael),  80 
Moriu  (Jean),  271,  273 
Moyreau  (Jean),  284,  287 
Miiller  (Christian  Frederick),  185 
Mviller  (John),  117 
Muntaner  (Francisco),  84 
Murphy  (John),  200 
Musi  (Ag.)  Agostino  Veniziano,  68 

Nanteuil  (Robert),  189,  271,  272, 

273,  280,  292 
Natalis  (Michael),  135,  265 
Negker  (Josse),  148 
Negre  (Charles),  325 
Niepce  de  Saint  Victor,  325 
Noliti  (Jean),  265 
Nooms  (Rene),  or  Zeeman,  116 

Oppenort  (Gilles  Marie),  298 
Ostade  (Adrien  van),  95,  105,  106 

Pader  (Hilaire),  258 
Panneels  (William),  142 
Papillon,  222 

Passarotti  (Bartolomeo),  57 
Pass  (Crispin  Van  de),  117,  267 
Patin  (Jacques),  231 


Paul  (S.),  200 

Payne  (John),  189 

Pencz  (George),  76,  173,  224 

Percgrini  da  Cesana,  21 

Perelle  (Gabriel),  267 

Perissim,  2'20,  244 

Perrier  (Francois),  257 

Pesne  (Jean),  260,  263 

Peyron  (J.  F.  P.),  266 

Pfarkecker  (Vincent),  148 

Picard  (Jean),  242 

Pierre  (Jean  Baptiste),  290 

Pigouchet  (Philip),  213 

Pilgrim  (Vaechtlein),  149 

Pitau  (Nicolas),  275,  280 

Pitteri  (Marco),  46 

Plattemontagne  (Nicolas  de),  274 

PleydenwurflT  (Wilhelm),  145 

P6  (Piero  del),  62 

Poilly  (Francois  de),  274,  280 

Pompadour  (Marchioness  of),  291 

Ponce  (Nicolas),  297 

Pontius  (Paul),  131,  132,  133,  134, 

136,  139,  140 
Potter  (Paul),  107,  108 
Prevost  (Jaques),  235 
Prevost  (Nicolas),  221 
Primaticcio,  30,  232,  234 
Procaccini  (Camillo),  57 
Prud'hon  (P.  P.),  303 

Quenedey,  303,  325 

Rabel  (Jean),  238 

Raibolini  (called  Francia),  20,  21, 

57 
Raibolini  (Giacomo),  56 


INDEX  OF  ENGRAVERS'  NAMES. 


337 


Raibolini  (Giulio),  56 
Raimbiich  (Abraham),  197 
Raimondi  (Marc  Antonio),  20,  21, 

57,  So,  66,  68,  69,  70,  71,  72, 

75,  76,  171,  231,  260 
Ravenet  (Simon),  196 
Regnart  (Valerian),  77,  231 
Regnesson  (Nicolas),  272 
Rembrandt,  87,  88,  99,  100,  101, 

104,  115,  116,  124,  330 
Reni  (Guido),  61,  62 
Resch  (Jeremiah),  146,  148 
Reverdino  (Cesare),  70 
Ribera  (Giacomo),  83,  84 
Ridinger  (John  Elias),  182 
Riffaut  (A.),  325 
Rivalz  (Antoine),  290 
Robert  (Hubert),  291 
Robetta,  30 

Rode  (Christian  Bernard),  182 
Roger  (Barthelemy),  304 
Rosso,  31,  32,  232,  234 
Roullet  (Jean  Louis),  276 
Rousseaux  (Emile),  307 
Rowlandson  (Thomas),  208 
Rubens  (Peter  Paul),  88,  98,  121, 

125,   126,   127,   128,   131,   132, 

133,   134,  135,   136,   139,  140, 

141,  142 

Ruggieri  (Guido),  232,  234 
Rupert  (Prince),  193,  278,  320,  321 
Rupp  (James),  148 
Ruysdael  (Jacob),  112 
Ryland  (William  Wynne),  196,  207 

Sablon  (Pierre),  229 
Sadelers  (The),  125,  243 


Saenredam  (John),  117 

Saint  Aubin  (Augustine  de),  296, 

297 

Saint  Aubin  (Gabriel  de),  289,  290 
Saint  German,  148 
Saint  Igny  (Jean  de),  254 
Saint  Mesniin,  303 
Salmon  (Adolphe),  307 
Sarrabat  (Isaac),  278 
Savart  (Pierre),  295 
Schauflein  (Hans),  147 
Schmidt  (George  Frederick),  182, 

183,  184,  294 
Schongauer  (Martin),   11,   90,    93, 

150,  157,  158,  160,  161,   162, 

173 

Schuppen  (Peter  van),  275 
Schut  (Cornelius),  140 
Scotin  (Girard),  287 
Scultori  (Adamo),  73,  74,  75 
Scultori  (Diana),  73,  74,  75 
Scultori  (Giovanni  Baptiste),  73,  75 
Sergent  Marceau,  302 
Sesto  (Cesare  da),  51 
Siegen  (Louis  of),  321 
Silvestre  (Israel),  267 
Simonet  (Jean-Baptiste),  297 
Sirani  (Andrea),  61 
Smith  (John  Raphael),  200,  201 
Solis  (Virgilius),  149,  178 
Somer  (Peter  van),  265 
Sompel  (Peter  van),  135 
Soutman  (Peter),  121,  122,  136 
Spierre  (Francois),  276 
Spilsbury  (Y.),  200 
Staren  (Dirck  ran),  95,  96 
Stella  (Claudine),  264,  265 


338 


INDEX    OF    ENGRAVERS     NAMES. 


Stella  (Jacques),  264 
Stock  (Andrew).  135 
Stoop  (Theodore),  107 
Strange  (Robert),  193 
Surugue  (Louis),  287,  289 
Suyderoef  (Jonas),  121 
Swanevelt  (Herman),  111 

Taberith  (Jan),  148 

Tardieu  (Pierre  Alexander),  305 

Tempesta  (Antonio),  246 

Thomas  (John),  141 

Thomassin  (Philip),   69,   77,   231, 

246 

Tbulden  (Theodore  van),  141 
Tibaldi  (Domenico),  57 
Tiepolo  (Domenico),  46 
Tilliard  (Jean  Baptiste),  297 
Tiry  (Leonard),  232,  233 
Tortebat  (Francois),  256 
Tortorel,  220,  244 
Tory  (Geoffroy),  218,  220 
Toschi  (Paolo),  80 
Trenta  (Antonio  da),  16 
Trouvain  (Antoine),  275 
Turner  (Ch.),  200,  202 

Dliet  (Van),  104 

Vaechtlein   (Hans    Ulrich),    called 

Pilgrim,  149 

Vaillant  (Wallerant),  278,  321 
Valesio  (Giovanni),  60 
Vallet  (Pierre),  228 
Velde  (Adrien  van  de),  107 
Velde  (Isaiah  van  de),  115 
Verard  (Antoine),  211,  212 


Verrochio  (Andrea),  50 

Vertue  (George),  197 

Vico  (^Eneas),  71,  72 

Vignon  (Claude),  258 

Villamene  (Franz),  77 

Vinci  (Leonardo  da),  48,  49,  50, 

51,  62 
Visscher  (Cornelius),  121,  122,  123, 

124 

Vivares  (Francis),  195,  196 
Voet  (Alexander),  136 
Vorsterman  (Lucas),  133,  134,  139, 

140 
Vostre  (Simon),  212,  213 

Ward  (James),  200 

Waterloo,  114 

Watson  (J.  and  Thomas),  200 

Watteau  (Antoine),  284,  287 

Wattelet  (Claude  Henri),  291 

Watts  (F.),  200 

Weirotter  (Francis  Edmund),  182 

Wierix(The),  125 

Wille  (John    George),    182,    183, 

185,  294,  300,  304 
Withdoeck  (Hans),  135 
Woieriot  (Pierre),  227 
Wolgemuth,  145,  163 
Woollett  (William),  194,  195 
Wouverman  (Philip),  108 
Wyngaerde  (Francis  Van  den),  141 

Zagel  (Martin),  163 
Zanetti  (Antonio  Maria),  17 
Zeeman  (surname  of  Kene  Noorus), 

116 
Zwoll,  93 


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